Donegal made hard work of dismissing the Cork challenge in Croke Park today but manager Rory Gallagher was happy that their Ulster final hangover subsided as the game progressed.

"We're just delighted to get across the line," he told Sky Sports shortly after the final whistle.

"We were always concerned I suppose, we had a wee bit of a hangover after the Ulster final. It took us 20 to 25 minutes to get going but we did. I thought we played a lot of good football.

"Obviously, defensively in the first-half I thought we were quite poor. Cork were getting the kick-out away, they obviously saw Tyrone getting it and they were counter attacking really well.

"We didn't have a great set-up at that back but we remedied things at half-time. I thought we took good control of the game in the second-half."

Paddy McBrearty was the unquestionable star of the show, kicking 11 points, and his manager said: "Paddy and Michael (Murphy) were very good inside, they work well together. They got a wee bit more space up there than they do in Ulster."

Next up for the Tir Chonaill men is a last eight encounter with reigning champions Dublin next Saturday...

"We're hitting the swimming pool now and we'll get the minds right. We have the week planned out. We're lucky enough there's a bank holiday on Monday as well, it gives the boys a wee bit more of a chance to recover."

 

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