'We can't relax, we have to get ready and roll with the punches next week' - Mogan

Standing outside the dressing rooms in Celtic Park, Donegal’s Peadar Mogan looks out onto the sunlit field in Derry, as members of the media and certain GAA officials walk past congratulating the St Naul’s man. It almost seemed like he expected no other result. 

Mogan has been a mainstay on the Donegal team for five seasons now. His first-ever championship game saw him overcome a Mickey Harte side on a wet November afternoon in Ballybofey in 2020 – his most recent championship match saw his side, again defeat a Mickey Harte side under a blue sky and ray of shine on an April evening in Derry City. 

Contrasting situations, different teams, but the feeling of victory still remains as sweet. 

If there was ever any doubt about this Donegal team's capacity to win a high-stakes match against a top side, it should be eased following Jim McGuinness’s side’s 4-11 to 0-17 point Ulster quarter-final win over Derry. 

Donegal potentially could’ve had easier passages to an Ulster semi-final, but just like McGuinness, Mogan had only one result in mind.  

“Look, people may not have expected that kind of performance today, and perhaps a lot of people didn’t expect that result either, but for us, you never go in thinking you can’t win, we always believed we could win,” Mogan told Donegal Live.  

“It’s a fantastic day for us as a team, for Donegal supporters, but the beauty of this competition is we can’t sit back and relax for very long because we have to recover the bodies and roll with the punches next Sunday. 

“Like we never listen to outside voices, you just try and stay calm and stick to your gameplan and stay focused for each passage of play, I don’t think any of us worried about us being the underdogs, I mean any day you go out you have to believe you’re going to win, and that’s what we did today.” 

A brace of goals from Daire Ó Baoill, as well as strikes from substitute Jamie Brennan and a converted penalty from Oisin Gallen turned the form book on its head as Derry’s defensive system was ripped apart in Celtic Park, but in terms of moving forward, for Mogan and his side it’s about recovering, putting the heads down and marching towards the next round. 

“The bodies are actually okay, we’re fit enough, that comes from months of hard work,” Mogan admitted. “As great as today is, and you would like to soak it in for a while, we know that we have to knuckle down straight away and focus on next weekend.” 

With regards to the goals that turned the screw for Donegal, it will be a day Derry’s goalkeeper Odhran Lynch will want to forget as he was caught out the field for three of Donegal’s goals whose brilliant counter-attacking game plan executed with speed and precision left Derry in disarray. 

But the St Naul’s man analyses those passages of play as moments that forced them to play that hand rather than a specific area they targeted. 

“Different games can take on a life of their own, you just have to react and get on with it and see how it plays out,” the Donegal defender said. 

“It looks like we targeted that area, but I think that’s just how it played out, it wasn’t something we really targeted, I think it was more they pushed up on us and we had no other option but to hit that area which we were very lucky with.  

“Other days those chances might not fall your way so thankfully it happened for us today. 

“It’s not often you score four goals against Derry, but they still scored 0-17 points against us too, and gave us a lot of bother throughout, so there are areas we need to work on as well but we’re just looking forward for the semi-final next weekend.”