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Monaghan V Donegal

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Best team won on the night, no arguments. Was the young bucks that did the damage Mc Brearty (who will be even better in the final) OReilly, the Mc Hughs and especially McNeillis around the middle in the first half.. We need to find a way to get Jack Mc Carron, Mc Ginn and Mc Carthy on the team at the same time We got drawn into the niggly stuff in the first half, which cost us, as did the lack of real mid fielders, but Donegal were very good and good luck to them in the final mhunicean_abu (Monaghan) - Posts: 1044 - 02/07/2016 21:55:47 1875175 Link
Replying To mhunicean_abu: "Best team won on the night, no arguments. Was the young bucks that did the damage Mc Brearty (who will be even better in the final) OReilly, the Mc Hughs and especially McNeillis around the middle in the first half.. We need to find a way to get Jack Mc Carron, Mc Ginn and Mc Carthy on the team at the same time We got drawn into the niggly stuff in the first half, which cost us, as did the lack of real mid fielders, but Donegal were very good and good luck to them in the final" How can you comment on what McBrearty will do in the final - be concerned that you guys can't mark him - doubt if either Cavan or Tyrone will give him the space he got out there. Most Monaghan Gaels will acknowledge Donegal were better team but you will be very dangerous in qualifiers and I think it will do you no harm whatsoever - you will be in quarters again no problem and with a few extra games under your belt can see the breakthrough with this team. IrishGael3 (USA) - Posts: 1092 - 02/07/2016 22:09:24 1875177 Link
Replying To seanie08: "Well disappointed after coming so close at the finish to forcing extra time but sounded like we were lucky to even be that close to Donegal on basis off the 70 mins who sounded like they were by far better side in first half with a slightly more even second. Congrats to them and best of luck in the final. Exceptional outfit to be fair who could go all the way to September now. For us its next Saturday night and Longford which will be v tough to get up for and I hope Malachy rings the changes. He will need to as from what I could gather from local radio a few of our lads will be very disappointed with their performance. On the plus side on a disappointing evening sounded like McCarthy and McCarron staked their claims for future inclusion." Certainly would like to see Mc Carron getting a start along with Mc Carthy. I think too much trust being put in the old reliables and they weren't at the races today. Against Longford is the time to get the young lads on and give them match time to gel and get to play together. Onwards and upwards. border Gael (Monaghan) - Posts: 894 - 02/07/2016 22:17:15 1875182 Link
Replying To border Gael: "Certainly would like to see Mc Carron getting a start along with Mc Carthy. I think too much trust being put in the old reliables and they weren't at the races today. Against Longford is the time to get the young lads on and give them match time to gel and get to play together. Onwards and upwards." How can you comment on what McBrearty will do in the final - be concerned that you guys can't mark him IrishGael3 (USA) Because he won't be marked by an allstar corner back and he will have learned a lot from the last 2 games mhunicean_abu (Monaghan) - Posts: 1044 - 02/07/2016 22:35:43 1875187 Link
Another absorbing encounter that really should have been easier than it was in the for Donegal. The 2 goals were literally gifts. Anthony Thompson who was having a great game made a sloppy challenge that did not need to be made as there were players back. The first goal was down to the management calling players aside to pass on instructions allowing Monaghan literally a tap in. The game should have been out of sight at HT. Fair play to Monaghan they improved alot on their insipid first half display. For me Donegal should have been more ruthless. MM spent most of the time out the field where he was influential but meant that Donegal lost a bit of cutting edge that was there in the first half. The young lads were exceptional tonight. Martin O'Reilly was exceptional constantly linking play and cutting through the middle of the Monaghan defence. He got a few very important scores and was a constant menace. Again young Gillespie is proving to be a great find. He was up and down the field all night and always used the ball well. Odhran McNeillis gave a very good performance tonight. Always used the ball intelligently. Special mention to Kav who was excellent, the year out has clearly done him the world of good as his legs were not an issue tonight. But why was he still on the pitch after getting carded. The yellow card was a long time coming and he should have been subbed there and then. Frank McGlynn, Paddy Mcgrath and the young keeper McGinley all were very impressive. In truth apart from Lacey at times it was a great team performance. The 2 McHughs were a little quiet tonight compared to last week but this was down to Monaghan doing their homework. Back to Karl he mixed the sublime with the ridiculous. He gave away the ball a couple of times that resulted in scores when Donegal were in control of the ball. There was also a couple of occasions where he failed to get on possession in advanced positions as his legs would not allow. Saying that he did pick up some great positions and read the play like he always has to sniff out Monaghan danger. I have no idea where the 5 mins came from for injury in time. The 6 mins were generous last week but deserved on account of McGinleys nonsense but tonight I could not fathom. panamasam (Australia) - Posts: 2782 - 02/07/2016 22:51:53 1875191 Link
Arrrrgggggeeeeooougghhh!!!!!! Massive win!!!!! Will post more sensible and sober post in due time!!!!! Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9141 - 02/07/2016 22:59:23 1875193 Link
Replying To patk: "Cracking game that went to the wire again, which is nothing more than you'd expect between these two. Best team won without a doubt. You can't perform like we did in the first half and expect to win games, we were blessed to even be in touch thanks to the goals. We were being overrun in defence and lacked imagination going forward. Things improved a bit in the second half but Donegal were well in control by that point. We've been slow starters all year and it bit us in the ass today. Good heart shown again to be in it to the final whistle, but there was too much left to do." You're right about Monaghan showing heart, nobody can question them as a team, as they have proven themselves as team who will play for 70+ minutes and never give up. In general there s very little between these two sides, they are both physically and mentally strong sides and I suspect these two games will stand by these two teams moving forward. Malachy O'Rourke seemed to get his starting team wrong, which he rectified at half time with two changes, two specific changes which Banty called before the changes were announced. Whereas Rory Gallagher seemed reluctant to use his subs, and Donegal fans will maybe see that as an area they need to tighten up on. Monaghan will dispatch Longford with no trouble, and enter a tough Round 3B encounter afterwards, which Monaghan should navigate their way through. Donegal are strong, much stronger than their late league form maybe suggested, and their attacking game in particular seems intricate and pace driven. Defensively they aren't as tight as in the past, but seem to have a bit of a spark about them around the field and they will provide a huge challenge for Tyrone or Cavan in the final. I think they deserve credit after losing Neil McGee and Midfield general Neil Gallagher, and still came through. GaryMc82 (Derry) - Posts: 3017 - 02/07/2016 23:16:11 1875203 Link
First and foremost congrats to Donegal 6 ulster finals in a row, that is some going. Some of the stuff they played last night was 2012 form. Sheer pace and movement and offloading was super, they over ran monaghan from their kickouts cleaned monaghan for breaks and had more method to their game. Games are won on small margins i.e mc brearty shot in clones last year. Mc Brearty outplayed walsh again, kieran hughes big let down for monaghan and beggan cant hit frees under pressure. Donegal will win Ulster IMO, for monaghan its a long road back and do or die battle with mayo down the line Im guessing. 222 (UK) - Posts: 694 - 02/07/2016 23:29:16 1875208 Link
Donegal played exceptionally well in the first half against a strangely subdued Monaghan team & truth be told should have been out of sight by half time. In the second half they retreated into their shell a little & invited Monaghan on to them which I couldn't understand. If Monaghan had scored a goal from the Lacey turnover the final result could well have been different & we would be wondering how the hell we managed to lose the game. There is still a lot of work to do, discipline, free kicks etc but we are on the right track & I am looking forward to the final. MuckrossHead (Donegal) - Posts: 5028 - 02/07/2016 23:31:34 1875209 Link
Replying To mhunicean_abu: "How can you comment on what McBrearty will do in the final - be concerned that you guys can't mark him IrishGael3 (USA) Because he won't be marked by an allstar corner back and he will have learned a lot from the last 2 games" The term "marked" you refer to can be defined in the loosed possibly way - theres not a hope he will allowed the space he got today - also all stars aren't being handed out this year yet so I guess you mean somethings that's happened in past - I presume tyrone should get Ricey to mark McBrearty should they go through based on your rationale. IrishGael3 (USA) - Posts: 1092 - 02/07/2016 23:53:33 1875213 Link
Big win for Donegal, wasn't sure if they had the stuff but i think this proves they have. realdub (Dublin) - Posts: 8592 - 02/07/2016 23:56:20 1875216 Link
Replying To MuckrossHead: "Donegal played exceptionally well in the first half against a strangely subdued Monaghan team & truth be told should have been out of sight by half time. In the second half they retreated into their shell a little & invited Monaghan on to them which I couldn't understand. If Monaghan had scored a goal from the Lacey turnover the final result could well have been different & we would be wondering how the hell we managed to lose the game. There is still a lot of work to do, discipline, free kicks etc but we are on the right track & I am looking forward to the final." I disagree, the retreat was down to tiredness Im guessing, the running game Donegal played in first half was surely energy sapping to say the least but it was brilliant stuff to watch, best half of football I have seen in a long time 222 (UK) - Posts: 694 - 03/07/2016 00:09:22 1875221 Link
Replying To GaryMc82: "You're right about Monaghan showing heart, nobody can question them as a team, as they have proven themselves as team who will play for 70+ minutes and never give up. In general there s very little between these two sides, they are both physically and mentally strong sides and I suspect these two games will stand by these two teams moving forward. Malachy O'Rourke seemed to get his starting team wrong, which he rectified at half time with two changes, two specific changes which Banty called before the changes were announced. Whereas Rory Gallagher seemed reluctant to use his subs, and Donegal fans will maybe see that as an area they need to tighten up on. Monaghan will dispatch Longford with no trouble, and enter a tough Round 3B encounter afterwards, which Monaghan should navigate their way through. Donegal are strong, much stronger than their late league form maybe suggested, and their attacking game in particular seems intricate and pace driven. Defensively they aren't as tight as in the past, but seem to have a bit of a spark about them around the field and they will provide a huge challenge for Tyrone or Cavan in the final. I think they deserve credit after losing Neil McGee and Midfield general Neil Gallagher, and still came through." League means very little, I have no doubt once Donegal knew they were safe in D 1, they targeted a championship run and how they could beat Monaghan, they look really fresh 222 (UK) - Posts: 694 - 03/07/2016 00:11:23 1875222 Link
Replying To MuckrossHead: "Donegal played exceptionally well in the first half against a strangely subdued Monaghan team & truth be told should have been out of sight by half time. In the second half they retreated into their shell a little & invited Monaghan on to them which I couldn't understand. If Monaghan had scored a goal from the Lacey turnover the final result could well have been different & we would be wondering how the hell we managed to lose the game. There is still a lot of work to do, discipline, free kicks etc but we are on the right track & I am looking forward to the final." The main positive for Donegal here is that they came through two games against an extremely formidable Monaghan side, two games which required 70+ minutes of playing full tilt. In the end, coming though by the skin of your teeth might benefit the Donegal team more than strolling through with a 6 or 7 point winning margin. Ultimately Donegal were playing an extremely well organised Monaghan team, who are in the top 5 or 6 teams in the Country, and are defensively amongst the very best in the game. Either team could have won, and the match was still up for grabs in the 5th minute of injury time, meaning both sides will have sufficient data to work on their weaknesses ahead of the final and 2B qualifier respectively. GaryMc82 (Derry) - Posts: 3017 - 03/07/2016 00:19:59 1875223 Link
While the scoreline at the end says either side could have won I think Donegal were a 4 or 5 point better team tonight. About the retreating it is a characteristic of this Donegal side lately. I do think in last 10-15 mins tiredness did play a role but think MM retreating was even more of a factor myself. panamasam (Australia) - Posts: 2782 - 03/07/2016 00:26:56 1875228 Link
League means very little, I have no doubt once Donegal knew they were safe in D 1, they targeted a championship run and how they could beat Monaghan, they look really fresh 222 (UK) - Posts:326 - 03/07/2016 00:11:23 I suggested when they won their opening 3 league games that Donegal could theoretically be willing to lose their remaining 5 league games, instead preferring to blood new players and try different tactical experiements, which they did. Now I don't buy that they sought to lose all 5 remaining games, but rather carried on the Donegal tradition of using the league as a platform for a specific preparation purpose as opposed to a competition. They are playing superb attacking game at the minute, which I didn't think would be effective against a strong defensive side like Monaghan, but it was. They will have Neil McGee back for the Ulster Final, and 19 year old Ciaran Gillespie putting down a marker for a starting place moving forward. They have addressed their kick-out problems, or certainly worked around those problems a bit more, and they look like they have a lot more still in the tank. They have still issues to address, but now have 3 good Championship games under their belt and things are starting to come together for them. Donegal will provide a stiff challenge for the winner of tomorrow's game in the Ulster final in two weeks time, in what will be a tight intense affair regardless of who wins tommorrow. GaryMc82 (Derry) - Posts: 3017 - 03/07/2016 00:41:19 1875232 Link
Replying To benjyyy: "I just don't understand Rory Gallagher's substitutions" Correct very hard to understand, bring McElhinney on again and has McLoone and Colm McFddan on the bench. Green_Gold (Donegal) - Posts: 1876 - 03/07/2016 00:59:03 1875236 Link
Great game again this week, such a shame it was not on TV. Donegal played better this evening and deserved their win, however there really is nothing between the two sides. They could play tens times in a row and there wouldn't be more than a point between them. Hats off to Monaghan who hung in there and showed great heart despite not being at their best. I really hope Donegal don't bump into Monaghan later in the year as they are such a hard team to beat. Donegal seem to be rediscovering their spark and have a good chance of winning Ulster now. I just wish Rory would use his subs bench more. Karl Lacey had a superb game but made a mistake late on, which I am sure is down to tiredness, why not give him a rest for the last 10 minutes, stick Leo McLoone on. Green_Gold (Donegal) - Posts: 1876 - 03/07/2016 01:13:23 1875241 Link
Replying To Lockjaw: "Arrrrgggggeeeeooougghhh!!!!!! Massive win!!!!! Will post more sensible and sober post in due time!!!!!" Arrrrgggggeeeeooougghhh!!! Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9141 - 03/07/2016 02:32:15 1875247 Link
Great advert for the Ulster Championship as a netural I thought this was what football is about. Two old rivals going head to head and you just knew it would go to the wire. I have suspected all year there is a dying kick in this Donegal team and these two games should set them up for the final. Monaghan can still go well in the back door but they may need some luck to avoid a big fish floating about. As a Tyrone fan (if we can beat Cavan) there is no doubt I would rather have faced Monaghan in the final. Donegal seem to have introduced some younger players smoothly to the team and the range of players who can take a score may have made the difference last night. Considering the standard of teams in the back door Tyrone must win today and a close reply win would also aid their development. I think Tyrone will win but Donegal look a step up again. Byanthon (Tyrone) - Posts: 1780 - 03/07/2016 08:54:32 1875258 Link