MONAGHAN PRODUCED THE Great Escape to pip Donegal on Sunday with Colin Walshe scoring an injury-time point.
For Donegal, following the 1-10 to 1-9 loss, the celebrations couldn’t have been more muted looking into an Allianz League Division 1 semi-final against Dublin.
But, as they say, the table never lies and after seven outings Donegal were fourth in the pile.
Photo caption: Odhrán MacNiallais of Donegal strokes over a first half point for his side against Monaghan in the Allianz League Division 1 fixture on Sunday in Castleblayney. Photo: Geraldine Diver
1 Overall objective was achieved
“WE’LL try to survive,” the Donegal manager, Rory Gallagher, said in late January before the league threw in. “If we’re in a semi-final, well and good. We’ll be looking to win a minimum of three games and if we win more we’ll be delighted with that.”
Donegal’s league form has never produced much of an indicator of what might lie ahead in championship – whether good or bad.
In 2007, Brian McIver’s side stormed to the Division 1 title but then were hammered by Tyrone in Ulster and well-beaten by Monaghan in a third-round qualifier in Omagh.
This was in stark contrast to the year beforehand, when Donegal put in a woeful performance to lose to Louth at Breffni Park in the Division 2A League final replay before almost making an All-Ireland semi-final, only to lose to a last minute Ger Spillane point against Cork.
Similarly, Brian McEniff’s Donegal lost their first six outings in 2003 and that August, were inches from an All-Ireland final. A brave performance only unravelled late in the game against Armagh, who scored a penalty at the bitter end from Oisin McConville in a 2-10 to 1-9 win.
Even in recent years, in 2011 and 2014, Donegal were performing in Division 2 and reached an All-Ireland semi-final and final respectively. And when Donegal won Sam Maguire in 2012 it was following a last-day escape act to maintain their top flight status with victory over Armagh to drag Jim McGuinness’s side onto six points.
“The key date is June 12 and we want to be close to our best by then,” Gallagher added in January. “The way to do that is to be competitive in Division 1 and get some good performances.”
 2 – The positives from Sunday
DONEGAL’S first 20 minutes was perhaps their on par with their best in their seven outings in the Allianz League Division Granted, there were big scores racked up against Down and Cork – the two sides that ended up relegated – Â and a strong finish to defeat Mayo.
But on Sunday the side captained by Michael Murphy controlled the tone of the contest initially against a side that had to win. Monaghan were flat as a pancake to begin with and Donegal deserve credit for that.
Goalkeeper Mark Anthony McGinley, as well as making a good save and a brave punch in only his second senior outing for the county, showed a fine variation in kick-outs.
“It’s always tricky the way Donegal set up and the system they play and if they get a run on you then it can be hard to catch them,” Monaghan manager Malachy O’Rourke said afterwards.
“Sometimes when we didn’t push up on the kick-outs they were able to work it well down the field and get a score and then when we did push up they exploited us in behind.”
When a contest finishes in a disappointing manner – which Sunday’s did – it’s often easy to overlook what good work had been put in beforehand. Actually, that thought might be one that could also be used when evaluating Donegal’s seven outings.
3 – The final quarters
A facet that has developed in the last four league games for Donegal has been their inability to grasp potentially promising situations.
Let’s look back: Against Kerry in Tralee Patrick McBrearty got back Donegal on level terms at 0-7 to 0-7 six minutes into the second half with the wind, but it was the Munster champions who went onto win 1-13 to 1-8.
Donegal were all at sea for spells of the first half against Roscommon but clawed their way back to be only two down  with 20 minutes to play, only for Cathal Cregg’s goal to prove to be the final nail in a 1-19 to 0-17 win for the side managed by Kevin McStay and Fergal O’Donnell.
Then, against Dublin, Donegal were 0-6 to 0-5 up in the 43rd minute at Croke Park before going down to a 1-10 to 0-7 reversal.Â
On Sunday, there was the first half seven-point lead of 1-4 to 0-0 before, on 55 minutes, Anthony Thompson put Donegal three up at 1-9 to 1-6 before Monaghan scored the last four points to win by one.
Scores having dried up which is worrying and the age profile of the Donegal team isn’t as young as most.
But these slow finishes might suggest that Donegal are still only building their fitness with the championship, again, being the priority. This was something that Eamon McGee hinted at on Sunday.
“We will knuckle down and it’s not going to be a nice few weeks,” the Gaoth Dobhair defender said. “We are on an upward curve, but there is a lot of stuff to be worked on.
“It’s coming into the right time of the year now surely, and championship is where it’s at. Hopefully we can push on now.”
Gallagher added: “I said after the first three games we have not done a lot of work given the age profile of the players. I think that is definitely a factor but I wouldn’t say it is the only factor that we have tired in the last 10 or 15 minutes.”
4 – The psychological value for Monaghan
IN a tangible way, Donegal’s one-point loss didn’t hinder the fact they went into the last series of fixtures in fourth place in the table and when the music died down, Rory Gallagher’s team had cemented their place in the Division 1 semi-finals in that same fourth place.
With Donegal not in provincial action till June 12 against the winners of the preliminary round between Fermanagh and Antrim, there’s still  nine weeks so the chance to get another game under the belt will be of benefit to the likes of Karl Lacey, who had flu, Colm McFadden and even the returning Frank McGlynn and Neil McGee.
However, victory – or even a draw – against Monaghan, would’ve relegated the Ulster champions, who are the team who’ve been the prickliest thorn in Donegal’s side in recent years.
The home support weren’t bleating out ‘The White and Blue of Farney’ at the final whistle but the impressive comeback gave them huge cause for celebration and showed their side’s resilient streak.
A Donegal win would’ve meant Malachy O’Rourke’s side would’ve been staring into an Ulster SFC quarter-final against Down on the back of five straight losses, where now the situation is that if Donegal lose to Dublin at Croke Park, that’ll be the exact pattern ahead of the Ulster opener for Rory Gallagher’s team.
5 – Dublin at Croke Park. Laugh or cry?
DUBLIN are as formidable opponent as any. If Donegal hadn’t upset them so spectacularly in the 2014 All-Ireland semi-final, they’d have the trebles of Division 1, Leinster and All-Ireland titles in each of the last three seasons.
Since the league was restructured in 2008, this year’s Dublin team are the first team to win all seven outings and had too much for Donegal in their clash a fortnight ago, winning by six points.
Roscommon came as close as anyone to puncturing Jim Gavin’s side’s 100 per cent record on Sunday in Carrick-on-Shannon, only for Dublin to win out 1-13 to 1-12, but it still showed that perhaps Dublin are a little susceptible when taken out of GAA headquarters.
Those of an older generation will remember the National Football League quarter-final of 1992 when two late Vinny Murphy goals sealed a late win for Dublin over Donegal at Breffni Park in Cavan.
Brian McEniff used that loss in a positive fashion later that year when the two sides met in the All-Ireland final and Donegal won 0-18 to 0-14 – drawing on the memory that although Donegal were caught late in the game in Cavan, they’d been the better side for the most part.
“People tend to forget that we had already met Dublin in the League quarter final at Breffni Park,” Martin Gavigan said at the time.  “I don’t think that we caught them totally unawares.”
Although every player loves a run out at Croke Park, wouldn’t there be a different feel to Sunday’s semi-finals if Kerry were facing Roscommon in Limerick or Galway, say, and Dublin were making the trek to Breffni to face Donegal?
