Bonner: Crunch Super 8s tie needs a ‘strong’ ref

DONEGAL manager Declan Bonner has called for a ‘strong’ referee to take charge of Sunday’s crunch Super 8s clash with Tyrone. Bonner has hinted that attacking players, such as Michael Murphy and Ryan McHugh, need to be offered protection by the match officials. Speaking prior to Cavan’s Joe McQuillan being appointed referee for Sunday’s all-Ulster clash, the Donegal boss admitted that the prize of an All-Ireland semi-final would give ‘extra edge’ to ‘a great rivalry’. A certain amount of acrimony has built up between the two counties over the past decade, even if the heat levels have cooled in their most recent clashes. Their two Championship meetings over the past two years have passed by in relative calm but that is out of kilter with other encounters. In four meetings — between 2011 and ’15 — four players were dismissed, while an investigation into a half-time scuffle in the 2015 clash in Ballybofey saw Tyrone assistant manager Gavin Devlin hit with an eight-week ban and both counties fined

€5,000. While Donegal won that match — their fourth Championship win on the bounce against Mickey Harte’s team — they were unhappy with the treatment meted out to their captain Murphy, who had been shadowed all afternoon by Justin McMahon. A draw this weekend will be enough for the Red Hand outfit to progress to the All-Ireland’s last four and much of the pre-match build-up will focus on where talisman Murphy plays. The Glenswilly man racked up 0-5 from play against Roscommon when playing most of the game at full-forward and Bonner has hinted that his star player would benefit from ‘strong’ officiating. ‘Any day Michael Murphy goes out, he’s going to be man-marked,’ said Bonner who last week called for more ‘protection’ for half-forward ace Ryan McHugh. ‘It’s important as well that there’s a strong official because there’s going to be a lot at stake and there’s going to be a fair intensity to this match.’ However, to suggest that Tyrone have managed to stop Murphy by foul means in the past, would do Mickey Harte’s team a great disservice. Murphy has always found the going tough against the Red Hands — in those six Championship games this decade, he has managed to score just three points in open play. It’s an astonishing stat given his talent, but less surprising given the claustrophobic nature of those games. Nevertheless, he has still managed to be a defining presence. Despite McMahon’s best efforts in that 2015 encounter, it was Murphy who put the game to bed. His two frees and a 45 — he has registered 0-13 in total from dead balls against Tyrone — saw Donegal over the winning line. But in the last two years, Harte has found other ways to quieten the Donegal captain after McMahon was sidelined and ultimately retired. The diminutive Cathal McCarron kept tabs on him in the 2016 Ulster final, while Pádraig Hampsey did such a number on him last year that he managed to outscore Murphy in open play, 0-2 to 0-1. On the basis of leaving well enough alone, Harte is likely to send Hampsey in Murphy’s direction again on Sunday. But, of all managers, the long-serving Tyrone boss is never going to invest all his faith in match-ups and Bonner (right) is aware his side will have to unravel a blanket this weekend. ‘Defensively Tyrone are probably the top team out there so they’re going to ask us serious questions, we’re going to have to find those answers,’ he said. ‘We know the challenge that lies ahead, and I’m sure it’s one the players are looking forward to.’ It is one that the wider GAA world will relish, too. While both Tyrone and Donegal have tweaked their systems in the past 12 months, the transformation with the latter has been more eye-catching. They have played more aggressively on the front-foot — racking up 8-122 in six games — to some effect, which has led to a dilution of their once famed defensive system. Bonner insists there will be no change to his approach come Sunday: ‘Not really, no. ‘You have to look at everything in terms of the opposition, their game plan. ‘Every game brings its own challenges, many teams are playing different styles of football. But we look at our end of it, look to see where we can do damage to the opposition and that’s what we’ll be working on. ‘There is always room for improvement. We kicked 20 scores against Roscommon and there were others we didn’t take. ‘We had one or two goal chances, but those small margins we have to close against Tyrone. ‘We have to be more clinical. We had to tighten up defensively and we are moving in the right direction to get the mix between defence and attack. We still have a bit to go.’