Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
MICHAEL WINNER
Bergin: Meehan could give Tribe edge
GALWAY All-ireland winner Joe Bergin say Michael Meehan could be the player to give Galway the edge over Donegal — if he’s given his chance tomorrow.
Meehan and Bergin played alongside each other for 10 years and won three Connacht titles in that time, and Bergin admits he was surprised to see the Caltra man recover from his ankle injuries to return to the county set-up this season.
Meehan has yet to play a minute for Kevin Walsh’s side since his return, but Bergin thinks he will thrive once he gets a run.
“We were surprised by Mikey’s return to the squad, but at the same time delighted to see that he was in a position to make that decision,” said Bergin, who won an All-ireland alongside Kevin Walsh in 2001.
“I know there was a lot of people asking questions because he was togged against Roscommon and was, by all accounts, available to play.
“They were surprised that he wasn’t pulled from the bench at some stage to try and turn things around and maybe create a bit of panic.
“There is no better player in the country to do that – throw him in there for 20 minutes and cause a bit of chaos. If he gets one ball in his hands with an eye on goal, there is only going to be one result.
“Far be it for me to second guess why he wasn’t brought in, but you’d like to think that the extra week or two brought him on and that he might be a more viable option this time round.”
Both Meehan and Bergin played when Galway and Donegal last met in Markevicz Park, but unlike that 2009 game which came six days after a Connacht final defeat to Mayo, Bergin thinks the extra week’s preparations will be key for Galway.
“All is not lost for Galway. They will have been very disappointed after Roscommon but you’d like to think there will be a kick in the lads. It’s a big challenge, they have to lift themselves, but having that extra week to prepare will have been crucial.
“When we played Donegal in Markevicz in 2009 we only had a six-day turnaround. It is very hard to get over that disappointment. You are at a really low ebb after losing a final, so that extra week will have been huge for Kevin and the lads.
“And I think there is a lot of questions surrounding this Donegal defence. They have been opened up, Tyrone have opened them and even in the qualifiers Longford and Meath have done it too.
“While Galway have good forwards in Damien Comer and Shane Walsh, maybe an old head like Mikey at some stage is the man to have on the end of a move to finish it off. That could be decisive on Saturday.”
At the other end of the field to Meehan and Bergin in 2009 was Donegal’s Michael Murphy, who kicked five points to give his side a one-point win in what was his debut season.
And although he has been employed at midfield for long stretches this year, Bergin suspects he could be returned to his old post to trouble a Galway full-back line that struggled against Roscommon.
“Donegal are not the team they were and Kevin will be looking at that. They have a lot of youth there but they are underpinned by players like Michael Murphy and Paddy Mcbrearty. That is probably the difference between the teams right now.
“The big question is does Rory Gallagher decide to play Murphy in midfield like he has done most of this season or does he look at the Galway full back line and say ‘maybe there is an opportunity to go for it’.”