Seems that most games are sh*te to watch now, landslide facile victories and close games that are akin to watching paint dry. Only for the result was in doubt up until the end you could have pulled the plug on that Ulster final at any time.

The Connacht final was horrific for different reasons. Just be patient lads, the big games are coming and no one will care what way they win at this stage of the Championship, stick with it :D

realdub (Dublin) - Posts: 8597 - 20/07/2015 16:33:36    1756503

Think its important to recognise the good spirit yesterdays game was played in, which meant the referee wasn't a factor in the game at all really. Also amusing to think of the amount of GAA begrudgers who would have rolled out the Grab All Association jibes if the umpire waved the white flag for McBreartys effort, but not a word said when the umpire waved it wide.

Soma (UK) - Posts: 2630 - 20/07/2015 17:17:10    1756551

Aye right enough soma I actually said that to the missus as well. Not like the GAA to pass up the chance of another pay day by awarding a controversial late equaliser. In fairness Paddy himself has admitted it tailed off at the last minute.

Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9164 - 20/07/2015 17:25:02    1756558

Hardcore they were terrible cause Monaghan were so good I'm taking nothing away from Monaghan great win but we all know it was close at the end, surely you can accept that?

clondalkindub (Dublin) - Posts: 9926 - 20/07/2015 17:44:26    1756576

We weren't actually that good though clondakindub, and that's why it was so close at the end. We really should have tagged on a few more scores through the second half to spare us the nervy end, but between poor shots and decision making we didn't. Thankfully that second quarter burst stood to us and got us over the line, but that was far from a great performance by us.

patk (Monaghan) - Posts: 936 - 20/07/2015 17:50:32    1756581

We have all got to credit Monaghan, and do so unconditionally. They made their dominance count when it mattered. When they were not dominant, it didnt matter!

Interesting couple of weeks ahead for them. I think that they will fancy their chances against Tyrone this year, but in fairness, it is an ugly draw for them. They would fair better against the likes of Cork, Kildare, Galway or indeed Fermanagh/Westmeath. But if you are good enough to win ulster, you should be good enough to win a quarter final. Time will tell, and they could improve even more.

Donegalman (None) - Posts: 3830 - 20/07/2015 17:52:27    1756585

Congratulations to Monaghan, at half time I really feared for us as it felt like 2013 all over again. Pure intensity and desire and - key point - capitalising on Donegal mistakes won it in the end. McManus is the best forward in the country for me, what a player.

We're getting written off from all corners it seems but I still don't quite know where we're at. There seems to be a lot of negativity about the performance and the team swirling around (Colm O'Rourke very happy to declare that he was writing us off, called us an old team with no mention of Monaghan's older legs as well - sometimes Colm a team just wants it more on the day, regardless of age profiles). So I'm going to focus on the positives:

1. After a brutal first half, we came out of the blocks 2nd half and really took it to Monaghan. Ryan McHugh and Frank McGlynn especially seemed to really grab the game by the scruff of the neck.
2. We fought hard in the second half and never gave in - you can argue that Monaghan retreated and so on but I felt we really decided not to let the final just slip away like in 2013 and fought tooth and nail to get ourselves back in it
3. Patrick McBrearty. What a player. Didn't get on the ball as much as we might have liked but he's turning in to a real leader in my opinion. May have missed the all important final kick but without him we'd have been nowhere near - kicked a monster score from outside the 45 to bring us within 2.
4. Anthony Thompson looks to be getting back up to speed - we're going to need him
5. Murphy, McFadden, Gallagher, both McGees and Lacey were nowhere near their usual standard and yet we still nearly salvaged a draw.

Obviously we have plenty of things to work on, especially in terms of accuracy and decision making on the pitch at key moments but I think the extra week break for Galway will be a huge benefit. Obviously I think Sam is beyond us as we've already had 4 big matches this year and would need to see off Galway, Mayo and then probably Dublin and Kerry in order to win the AI. That is a massive ask that I think would be beyond any team in Ireland at this stage. I just hope they can regroup, get into a 1/4 against Mayo and see what happens from there.

Again, congrats to Monaghan. Very well deserved - I seriously hope they finally make a breakthrough in Croke Park and make it to the semi finals. What O'Rourke has done there is extraordinary.

JoeSoap (Donegal) - Posts: 1432 - 20/07/2015 20:10:04    1756666

Joesoap, while I commend your optimism, I feel that we are at the back of 2 bad performances, both monaghan and derry are not the same standard as the likes of mayo kerry or dublin. If we were to meet any of those 3 teams on the form of the last month, we would be in huge trouble. I do think that we are still on paper an excellent team, but we will need to find form from May to get over the line next day out.

Donegalman (None) - Posts: 3830 - 20/07/2015 21:18:05    1756709

A sincere Congratulations to Monaghan on your Win yesterday.

I have a lot of gripes about the game yesterday and most have been already mentioned and are pointless at stage.
A really poor Ulster Final that was very Flat up until the last ten minutes.
I knew and stated the fact from the start that Monaghan were the team to beat in Ulster.
For Us we beat ourselves with the amount of Wides and despite our captain urging the team to press near the End' they failed to do So.

And Conor Mcmanus is one class Act.

4kHdoneill...I refuse to Feed you for you to start into one of your Lamenting Ulster history lessons that I and most on here will only be all too well aware of anyhow.

To answer your question i suggest you refer back to my previous post that I replied to you on.
Proud Inishowenman indeed' and that is Inishowen in the HILLS OF DONEGAL and Nowhere else.

Congrats again to Monaghan on Winning back the Anglo Celt..Enjoy.

InishowenMan (Donegal) - Posts: 216 - 20/07/2015 21:42:03    1756724

has anyone read eamonn mcgee's tweet which is republished here on HS. what do people think

s goldrick (Cavan) - Posts: 5518 - 20/07/2015 21:45:13    1756727

I thought Donegal's first point of the game was probably the best team point I have ever seen. I thought Donegal were going to perform like that the whole game. they really seemed to run out of legs.

s goldrick (Cavan) - Posts: 5518 - 20/07/2015 21:53:49    1756733

Donegal looked visibly tired and leggy on Sunday, fitness is not an issue with this team but the mileage is. I expect Galway to win probably more comfortably than most expect, although I'm happy to be proved wrong.

brendtheredhand (Tyrone) - Posts: 10897 - 21/07/2015 08:02:49    1756736

GaryMc82
County: Derry
Posts: 2004
Been thinking on this game a fair bit, and a lot of things would point to Monaghan as potential winners. They had a superb league campaign against the big guns, and overcame Cavan and Fermanagh without breaking a sweat, kinda a bit like Donegal against Derry and Antrim last season on their way to reclaiming the Anglo Celt.
Seeing the "Monaghan for SAM" signs up along the N2 between Carrickmacross and Monaghan clearly shows the expectation within Monaghan this year, clearly bolstered by consistent and solid performances against all the top brass.

Donegal look to be tweaking their system slightly under Rory Gallagher, and I think they possibly had one eye on this game since they beat Tyrone. Still defensive by nature, but they also clearly have worked on their attacking game. In the opening exchanges against both Tyrone and Derry, they cut through both sides defensive setups like a hot knife through butter. They then proceeded to let both sides back into those games, however the Derry comeback was more to do with McBrearty getting Injured and staying on the field.

Looking closely at both sides, I suspect Donegal will win this game, And I actually think they may win it by 6 or 7 points. It will be a tight encounter, however I genuinely think Donegal will pull away late on for the win.

GaryMc82
County: Derry
Posts: 2004

There were a lot of factors that contributed to Donegal getting well beat in 2013, and I don't think any of those things can be applied this time.

Entering their 3rd Ulster final against each other, and also noting that both sides have played a few league matches since last season, both teams know what lays ahead. Donegal know they will face possibly one of their toughest games of the year, and that is an environment in which they tend to thrive.
This Monaghan side have yet to win an All Ireland Quarter final match, and that tells us that they don't fare so well in those high stakes matches, although they remain a tough nut in Ulster.

It is a essentially a home game for Monaghan, and It will require a 70+ mins performance of high Intensity to win this. I think that while there will be little between the two sides, Donegal's mental strength will see them pull away and win by a comfortable margin.
GaryMc82
County: Derry
Posts: 2004
Neither of these sides will fold on Sunday, and both will be really well prepared.

The winner will be the team with that little bit extra class, where a few naturally gifted players create something extra and that for me is Donegal. They are fully fit and focused, and are now expecting to face an onslaught like no other game in 2015.

This is where Donegal thrive, and I believe they will win this by around 5/6 or 7 points in the end. Donegal perform better in games where they think they will be up against it for 70+mins. 2011, 2012 and even 2013 they seen Tyrone as their main rival in Ulster, but that changed after 2013 and they now see Monaghan as that main rival.

Where has Gary gone since this match? If Donegal had to have won he would have risen by this stage. A great poster, accurate, insightful and always on the button is our Gary.

muckla (UK) - Posts: 366 - 22/07/2015 14:09:54    1757550

Mucla, Gary usually does call it fairly accurate but if he like anybody got it right all the time then that would be just weird......

But obviously you have been waiting on it to go wrong for him, one has little to do I suspect...... If your jumping on a poster here getting it wrong,

Suppose you have 100% record at getting things spot on

ben1977 (Donegal) - Posts: 364 - 22/07/2015 14:45:10    1757576

Ben 1977
I'm usually always wrong Ben and that is a fact, I was just wondering how come Gary from Derry is so prominent in matters Donegal except for this week.
There were posters calling for him last week on the Donegal Thread to get his opinion, Why can't he give it now, I did give him three days to post something so I didn't jump to quick.

muckla (UK) - Posts: 366 - 22/07/2015 15:09:43    1757590

Maybe gary is the postman predictor from Donegal mmmmmmmmmm

prideof85 (Monaghan) - Posts: 851 - 22/07/2015 15:28:46    1757606

prideof85
County: Monaghan
Posts: 435
Maybe gary is the postman predictor from Donegal mmmmmmmmmm

They have done studies you know. 60% of the time, he's right every time.

muckla (UK) - Posts: 366 - 22/07/2015 16:02:44    1757640

Ah Gary is a good poster, he's talked well about Monaghan before too.

But I have to admit I was a bit surprised he was talking Donegal up so highly and predicting such a comfortable win. I was always fairly confident of this one but I reckoned either way there wouldn't be much in it, it's the nature of these games and so it turned out. Even last year when we were atrocious and Donegal played us off the park, there was only 3 points in it at the end. A 3 point hammering and the win was never in doubt, but 3 points nonetheless.

Nobody's right all the time sure.

patk (Monaghan) - Posts: 936 - 22/07/2015 16:23:34    1757658

Lads whats the preliminary date for the next game. are we going to be a saturday evening??

detruth (Monaghan) - Posts: 196 - 22/07/2015 16:31:51    1757663

why don't they take down that offensive tweet on the home page. i have tried to post about this but admin wont allow it. how ironic.

s goldrick (Cavan) - Posts: 5518 - 22/07/2015 20:15:30    1757752