BONNER: WE ARE MAKING BIG STRIDES
Beaten Donegal ‘not far away’
DECLAN BONNER and his backroom team had plenty to ponder on the road back to the northwest on Saturday night. This was an encouraging performance that sharpens the sense that this young Donegal team are moving in the right direction under their new manager. But the Division 1 table takes issue with that, as they are anchored to the bottom, pointless after three games.
‘We have four games left and they are all big games for us now,’ Bonner observed. ‘Prior to the League I knew we were going to be very short in terms of experience. We have a lot of young lads that have shown they’re capable now of playing at this level.
‘The Championship was always the priority. We are looking towards Ulster, which starts in May. We are trying to change the way we are playing and changing game-plans takes time. But we are not that far away.’
It’s no surprise that tonic didn’t arrive on a cold evening in Croke Park, but for a period of the second half, it looked like it might. Paddy McBrearty is the best forward in the game on current form and while he took time to settle into this game, he terrorised the Dublin defence after the interval.
Michael Murphy made his return from a groin operation in the 56th minute and was given the responsibility of a free as soon as he entered the fray — which he kicked wide. He had three shots at Stephen Cluxton’s goal, two wides and one into the keeper’s hands but the prospect of a Murphy/McBrearty tag-team for Donegal this summer is exciting.
Bonner expects two more 2012 All-Ireland winners, Neil McGee and Frank McGlynn back for Kildare’s visit to Ballyshannon. Donegal did lack some experience in the final 15 minutes as Dublin kicked for home, scoring the final four points of the match.
What of the All-Ireland champions? The spring has started swimmingly for Jim Gavin and his players. The manager keeps referencing that other teams have more work done than them, but it hasn’t made much of a difference in the first three weeks. They just keep on winning.
‘There’s no doubt that we’re a little bit behind other teams,’ Gavin said, a theme he has constantly returned to over the course of the past few weeks.
‘But a game like that, the intensity in it and the way Donegal really went at the game and that we had to dig deep mentally to get a result will help us catch up.
‘Donegal have some excellent forwards and they used the windy conditions to their advantage. They are a very fit side and you could see that with the running off the ball, but I thought our guys showed great mental strength to stay in the game when it could have went away from them and to close it out was very satisfying.’
Having trailed 0-11 to 0-5 at the break, McBrearty inspired his team to within a point of parity, 0-16 to 0-15, by the 60th minute. But that was the signal for Dublin to kick on.
Colm Basquel and Niall Scully both scored four points and particularly caught the eye for their busy displays in the attack.
Con O’Callaghan is busy, trying to win back-to-back All-Irelands with Cuala hurlers and his absence hasn’t even been noticed in the Dublin team such is the frightening array of attacking options at Gavin’s disposal. DUBLIN: S Cluxton; D Byrne, P McMahon (C O’Sullivan 46), E Lowndes; J Cooper, J McCarthy, J Small; B Fenton, MD Macauley (D Rock 64); B Howard, C Kilkenny, N Scully (C Reddin 70+2); C Basquel, (P Small 70+2) P Andrews(E O’Gara 46), P Mannion. Scorers: C Basquel (f), N Scully 0-4 each, B Fenton, C Kilkenny, P Mannion (f) 0-2 each, E Lowndes, P Andrews, B Howard, E O’Gara, C Reddin, P Small 0-1 each DONEGAL: P Boyle; T McClenghan, C Ward, E Bán Gallagher; R McHugh (P Brennan 70+2), L McLoone, E Doherty; N Mullins (C McGonigle 26), H McFadden; M McHugh (C McGinley 64), S McBrearty (M O’Reilly 69), C Thompson (N O’Donnell 42); P McBrearty, O MacNiallais (M Murphy 55), J Brennan. Scorers: P McBearty 0-7, 3f, R McHugh, J Brennan, S McBrearty 0-2 each, M McHugh, L McLoone 0-1 each. Referee: J McQuillan (Cavan).