Taking Donegal's performance against Kerry first the facets of their game which enthused me most were the team and managements tactical awareness and the sheer physicality and determination of Donegal's players. I'll expand on that Donegal while a team with some outstanding individual footballers, Colm McFadden being my favourite are also a team acutely aware of their own limitations. Against Kerry the team appeared to start out with a more attacking formation than we are used to and after about ten minutes they reverted to their usual shape with a four point lead. The interesting thing about this switch was that Donegal clearly started the game knowing their chances of beating Kerry would be greatly reduced if they were ever significantly behind in the game so a quick start would be hugely important. Kerry via the long ball to Donaghy early doors were also equally aware that a quick start might be their best chance of emerging victorious. That Donegal seemingly executed this crucial 10 minute period so well is a testament to the determination and organisation of the team. The other area which impressed me about Donegal was their physical conditioning in lasting the seventy minutes against Kerry. GAA games do not offer a distance traveled technology however if it did I would be hedging a strong bet that Donegal's player were up to a kilometre on average ahead of their opponents by the end of the match. While Kerry's half forwards waited for quick ball Donegal's seemed to move from defence to attack and vice versa with every phase of play another example of McGuinness getting every ounce possible from each player available. It may be sacreligious to say this as a Clareman but there must be some co-efficient of the Crusheen hill in Donegal as thats what their efforts are reminding me of currently. In conclusion Donegal's performance against Kerry was an outstanding team effort. For sure there are talented individuals on the team like Murphy, McBrearty and Lacey but no two or three players will win them an all Ireland if that is what happens ultimately.
Cork on the other hand are littered with star players both on the team sheet and sitting on the bench behind Conor Counihan. Footballers like Aidan Walsh, Ciaran Sheehan and Paul Kerrigan are among the best in their positions in the country and a handful for any defender in a one on one situation. Simple analysis tells us Cork scored 2-19 against Kildare a high score against any team hitting very few wides. One aspect which impressed me with the next fixture possibly in mind was their ability to score frees from beyond the 45 and from both sides of the pitch. The teams physicality was also impressive against what is a well conditioned Kildare outfit. Perhaps the most impressive element was there dominance in midfield under kick outs. Throw in the fact that the team coped well with a 5 week fixture break and kept their cool during a couple of decent patches from Kildare and it was a very impressive performance.
Analysing this weeks match up the first thing that strikes me is that both teams will match each other for running during this game. Corks wing forwards were quick to track back against this Donegal team better than Kerrys set did in fact. The other area where Cork can improve on Kerry will be distance shooting from both play and placed balls. Against Kildare they were far more successful than Kerry were against Donegal and while conditions did deteriorate I still feel Cork on a sunny day in Croke Park can put up a score somewhere around 18 points especially with the strength of Kelly , O'Neill and Goulding on the bench. Coming back to Donegal the question will be can they do the same if the game turns into a higher scoring affair. Against Kerry only 2 of their starting forwards scored from play. In March when the 2 sides met it was a low scoring affair with Donegal coming out on top. McGuinness has shown this Donegal team to be unbeatable tactically when the score stays relatively low. I have no doubt Donegal will be victorious if the score stays low but with warm conditions promised and a Cork side used to putting up a score in Croker I feel Cork will come out on top here.....just.
Analysing this weeks match up the first thing that strikes me is that both teams will match each other for running during this game. Corks wing forwards were quick to track back against this Donegal team better than Kerrys set did in fact. The other area where Cork can improve on Kerry will be distance shooting from both play and placed balls. Against Kildare they were far more successful than Kerry were against Donegal and while conditions did deteriorate I still feel Cork on a sunny day in Croke Park can put up a score somewhere around 18 points especially with the strength of Kelly , O'Neill and Goulding on the bench. Coming back to Donegal the question will be can they do the same if the game turns into a higher scoring affair. Against Kerry only 2 of their starting forwards scored from play. In March when the 2 sides met it was a low scoring affair with Donegal coming out on top. McGuinness has shown this Donegal team to be unbeatable tactically when the score stays relatively low. I have no doubt Donegal will be victorious if the score stays low but with warm conditions promised and a Cork side used to putting up a score in Croker I feel Cork will come out on top here.....just.
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