Donegal v Galway in 2 weeks time.

How good are Donegal; they struggled against Meath who are hardly a strong team if results / their own fans opinions are any guide.
PP have Donegal installed as 8/11 favs so no real guide there ? or is there.
Perhaps the thinking is that although Donegal aren't in great shape, Galway have already played their final against Mayo - that being the limit of their ambitions - and will lie down.

How do the fans from both sides see it?

timmyhogan (UK) - Posts: 290 - 10/07/2017 11:45:36    2013866

It will be very tough for us I feel. We improved against Meath and showed plenty of battle and commitment which was great to see. I think if we go up another level from the Meath performance we should have the beating of Galway but I'm not sure if we can. I was encouraged in Navan on Saturday though, especially by the second half.

We've had a poor summer so far to be honest so it's really hard to know. I would say on balance we should be beating Galway with all things considered, especially for them being deflated after the Connacht final defeat, but Donegal have not been anywhere near the level I thought they could hit after the league. We still have plenty of issues and in spite of an encouraging performance on Saturday, the previous week was one of the most worrying matches I've seen us in involved in for a long time.

Confidence is obviously a big thing with a young group though so coming out of the right end of that Meath result should do wonders for them.

JoeSoap (Donegal) - Posts: 1432 - 10/07/2017 12:04:23    2013891

Donegal had a shockingly bad start to the Championship, a win over Antrim followed by a total non-performance against Tyrone, a game in which they didn't tackle, gave the ball away easily and just looked flat. They managed to pick themselves up and get over the line against Longford in what was a terrible game, and a flat performance.

The Meath match is turning point though, Donegal did put a performance together in what was a tight battle on Meath's home patch. The most important factor to take away from this match was that Donegal as a team started to find their groove again, psychologically showing signs of recovery and confidence building. And now a serious performance against Galway might just re-ignite Donegal's season and send them into an All Ireland Quarter final with serious momentum.

Galway will demand further improvement from Donegal if they are to proceed, and I think the Donegal panel recognise this and will rise to the challenge. This isn't the Donegal of Jim McGuinness 2011-2014 era, defensively we are no longer set up that way and thus teams do generally find more scores against us. But I think this Donegal panel have the potential to be better than the 2011-2014 squad, and a serious run this year might help them believe and reach the next level.

Commodore (Donegal) - Posts: 1106 - 10/07/2017 12:25:21    2013915

We can win this by turning the screw on their keeper. Galway will need to improve massively and I don't know how badly they want to get to the quarters, that will have as much to do with this game as anything. I don't ever play up or down our chances but I feel the winning and losing of this game is entirely up to which Galway team turns up.

Donegalman (None) - Posts: 3830 - 10/07/2017 12:37:14    2013926

Donegal haven't been great so far this Summer but at least they are coming off a win. Galway were atrocious against Roscommon and their mindset was all wrong. You'd imagine if they have any pride at all the Galway players will produce some sort of backlash but you just don't know.

Marooned (Galway) - Posts: 2208 - 10/07/2017 15:47:19    2014206

Really hard game to predict. You would expect there will be a serious backlash from Galway but as everybody knows it is extremely tough to bounce back after such a loss especially with the prospect of playing Kerry the prize for Galway. Donegal definitely showed improvement to beat Meath and you could not fault their will and effort. However the same issues persist in that Donegal are fairly predictable in how they will attack and defensively too passive with a lack of intensity. On a brighter note Ryan McHugh showed some form at the weekend which has been missing plus Donegal had a real goal threat. I don't think either side will fear the other but much will really depend on how Galway react to the Roscommon game.

panamasam (Australia) - Posts: 2779 - 10/07/2017 19:30:09    2014416

I can't see anything but a Galway win here.

Yes they got badly caught out by Roscommon but had beaten Mayo before that. An aggregate of those two performances would be more than enough to beat Donegal based on the aggregate of their last two outings.

MuckrossHead (Donegal) - Posts: 5028 - 10/07/2017 20:33:22    2014462

Galway will need a mental lift now they fully expected to be lifting the nestor cup.
Moral will be rock bottom, where as Donegal have a win's underneath them some confidence will be there.
I hope Galway supporters travel and support their team when they really need them, surprised at the Galway turnout at pearse staduim.

35x (Mayo) - Posts: 8 - 10/07/2017 20:46:48    2014471

Donegal's new lads are not at the races yet. Too many rabbits-in-headlights / passengers. They may be better than Galway next year or the year after, but they aren't this year. Galway are a better-balanced team as it is - in theory. In practice, it depends if Galway can shake off their lethargy and give it a lash. If they do, they have the beating of Donegal this year. if they sleepwalk their way through another match, they won't. All makes for interesting viewing though. Good championship.

essmac (Tyrone) - Posts: 1141 - 10/07/2017 21:10:44    2014487

A 50/50 game in my book, Galway pride might be stung after that poor showing yesterday, Donegal have some momentum but our form is dodgy, looking forward to it, likely to be the last or 2nd last game for either of us though,
it would be good for our young players to get a run out in Croker but hopefully not get a hammering from the likes of Kerry, that would only set them back further.
Donegal by 2 or 3 points hopefully.

Tirchonaill1 (Donegal) - Posts: 2739 - 10/07/2017 21:15:38    2014493

Impossible to call .

Honestly either side could win this by 6 or 7.

Being truthful - we are miles behind the big 3 or 4.

This is a group of kids with 3 or 4 good experienced older ones .

We are limping along . The future is bright although I'd love to see the young lads in Croker .

TheRightStuff (Donegal) - Posts: 1688 - 10/07/2017 21:39:31    2014520

PoolSturgeon (Galway) - Posts: 1902 - 10/07/2017 21:52:18    2014531

Under better management I would take Donegal to shade this one,
Pushing up on the kick out caused panic in the Connacht final resulting in crucial scores,
Allowing Michael Murphy some time in the full forward line will ask serious questions of Galway's most vulnerable line,
Resisting that temptation to funnel back would avoid a mobile midfield running at you setting up scoring forwards like Daly, Comer and Walsh.

Under the current management none of these are likely to happen unless some players decide to play to their own strengths.

Curlew66 (Roscommon) - Posts: 504 - 10/07/2017 22:54:56    2014590

Some soul searching done at training last night for the galway lads ,one would think.
it's no easy fix and you can't start making changes just for the sake of it.personally I think it will be the same team, maybe Armstrong coming back in.The goalkeeper is getting alot of stick,but unfortunately his replacement had a howler against tipp last year and walsh doesent seem to have forgiven him for it.

cornetto (Galway) - Posts: 223 - 12/07/2017 10:52:15    2015437

50/50 game imo. A hesitant hat tip to Donegal who have that bit of momentum now.

DannyMcA (Dublin) - Posts: 260 - 12/07/2017 11:22:13    2015456

Confident nod for Donegal here. Look at losing provincial finalists records and add to that Donegal are better than Galway. Galway have achieved target no1 this year, getting to div1.

Frederick (Louth) - Posts: 479 - 12/07/2017 11:30:49    2015463

dstuction (Donegal) - Posts: 1209 - 12/07/2017 12:53:04    2015528

Hell of an ask for Galway to turn around from the nature of that defeat: mindset was wrong, tactics were wrong, and arguably the players were wrong. Walsh has to either go for a root and branch overhaul with only 2 weeks for everything to gel, or stick with more-or-less the same squad and approach which won't defeat a div 1 team no matter how badly Donegal has been playing. Our weak backline combined with an apparent inability to score goals (no doubt stemming from our very defensive approach) won't cut it at this level, whereas Donegal with their proven ability to score goals will make all the difference.

Fully expecting a better display from Galway, but a win for Donegal with a goal or two making all the difference.

festinog (Galway) - Posts: 3097 - 12/07/2017 19:29:24    2015784

I think a lot of posters here are playing the 'yerra' card. It's tough on Galway coming off a bad loss at the weekend and having to play again so quickly. Gallagher is 'nursing' his young players along and obviously hoping that they can grow into a highly competitive team capable of winning titles over the next few years. There are difficult problems for both managers to overcome. Some Galway players seemed to accept defeat far too easily on Sunday, while Donegal players wilted when the pressure came on in the U21 game against Dublin and in their defeat to Tyrone.
They are both good teams but I think it will come down to which manager can instill most fight into his team. It should be a bit easier for Walsh as his team overall are more seasoned and experienced. Galway to win by a point or two.

neverright (Roscommon) - Posts: 1648 - 12/07/2017 20:00:58    2015790

festinog (Galway) - Posts: 3097 - 12/07/2017 22:43:01    2015856