Michael Murphy’s late free earned Donegal a valuable draw with Dublin at MacCumhaill Park on Sunday.
Jason McGee and Ryan McHugh scored goals late in the first half to put Donegal ahead at the break. The game looked beyond Donegal when Niall Scully netted for Dublin, but late scores by Ciaran Thompson and Murphy gave Donegal a draw.
- A vital point that should be enough to keep Donegal up
Donegal will still need more points to stay in Division 1, but there’s no doubt Sunday’s draw – secured via Michael Murphy’s last-gasp free – was a big point for this young Donegal side to get.
Over the 70 minutes on Sunday, Dublin used 12 players who had been involved in last year’s All-Ireland final replay win over Mayo.
Donegal were without the likes of Martin McElhinney, Karl Lacey and Patrick McBrearty, but they had the Dubs rattled to such an extent that Jim Gavin had to call upon Michael Darragh Macauley, Paul Flynn and Kevin McManamon from the bench.
Donegal go to Cavan on Saturday night with survival in Division 1 within touching distance – something that would be a real confidence booster for Rory Gallagher’s new-look side.
“I’d say it would give us a good chance,” Gallagher observed.
“The way we approach it we are taking it week on week. We are looking to gain that experience as a new group and be better by the end of the league than we were at the start.”
- McHugh continues goal-den streak against Dubs
When Donegal stunned Dublin, and the watching Gaelic football public, in the All-Ireland semi-final in 2014, Ryan McHugh’s brace of goals were the strikes that turned the tide in his team’s favour.
McHugh has long since been regarded as one of the most promising players in the country and is well capable of being one of Donegal’s leaders.
Scoring goals against Dublin had become a habit for the Kilcar man. When he slotted home Donegal’s second major on Sunday, it was a fifth goal against the Dubs.
McHugh was one of the Donegal players to come in for big attention from Dublin on Sunday – but they were powerless to stop him from netting.
- Jason McGee is grasping his chance
In the winter of 2013, Jason McGee’s prowess on the soccer field alerted the radar of Nottingham Forest. McGee was at PCC, Falcarragh at the time and he went for a trial at Wilford Lane, Forest’s training ground.
A couple of months later, McGee led PCC to an Ulster Colleges Arthurs Cup win as they defeated St Mark’s, Warrenpoint at Celtic Park.
McGee could have been lost to Donegal. He was concentrating on soccer when Declan Bonner went in search of him in 2015. McGee joined the Donegal minors that year and in 2016 he was a star of the Donegal minor side that won an Ulster League and Championship double.
The call came from Rory Gallagher in the autum and, although the Cloughaneely man might’ve been expected to have to bide his time he’s made a slot his own in the Donegal engine room.
He tucked home Donegal’s opening goal on Sunday, having initially been denied by Stephen Cluxton, and he superbly curled over the first point of the day.
Given the big departures from Donegal’s midfield, McGee has grasped his chance – and will be hard to dislodge.
- Donegal defend their way to a share of the spoils
Rory Gallagher had accepted in his pre-match press briefing that, against the reigning League and All-Ireland champions, that Donegal would have to revert to a more defensive approach for this one.
Donegal had been open and more expansive than we’ve come to expect, for the opening games against Kerry and Roscommon.
They’d shipped two goals in both those games and seemed too porous at times –so down came the shutters on Sunday.
While Jamie Brennan ploughed a lonely furrow in the Donegal attack, Gallagher said of his team’s set-up: “You ask Dublin about that, they sent their full-back line forward and our boys tracked them back.
“It was a scrappy day and it was a difficult day to score so maybe it was always going to be like that.”
Points mean prizes – and a draw with Dublin was a fine feather to add to Donegal’s cap here, regardless of how they might have been perceived to have lined up for long spells of a game that saw them go periods of 25 and 27 minutes without a score.
Frank McGlynn added some contex to that point: “Statistics-wise it’s probably a worry that we went so long without a score, but you have to take the conditions into account. It was energy-sapping –but we did get the scores when they were needed.”
- Fortress Ballybofey – and a case for making this house the home
Since Down left Sean MacCumhaill Park in 2010 following an Ulster SFC win, Donegal have gone unbeaten in 16 League and Championship matches at the venue.
Jim McGuinness’s stated preference was for Donegal to play in Ballybofey as much as they could and Rory Gallagher recently outlined similar views.
“We very much enjoy the connection with the supporters and the way they get behind you in Ballybofey,” Gallagher said. “It’s a big help to us. That might be a small thing, but to the players who love playing football and love playing for Donegal, getting to Ballybofey is something special.”
Donegal have developed Ballybofey into something of a fortress and with Tyrone to come in a couple of weeks’ time, protecting that unbeaten record was important on Sunday.
“We enjoy playing in MacCumhaill Park – it’s our number one pitch,” Frank McGlynn noted.
“When you come here, it has a different feeling about it. Players looking forward to playing here and we’re proud of the record we have in Ballybofey.”
It is unlikely to happen, but there is an argument to be made, surely, for all of Donegal’s senior games to be played in Ballybofey.
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