Stars align for Donegal with another second coming of Michael Murphy

The McGuinness-Murphy combo is back together with the return of the Glenswilly hero to the field. What a thunderous welcome he received in MacCumhaill Park, Ballybofey around 4.45 on Sunday afternoon.

The Armagh welcoming party for Murphy was also pretty hot with players lining up to reintroduce him to Gaelic football. There has been the inevitable circling of the wagons in the Orchard County with former player Oisin McConville claiming that a headbutt is only a headbutt if it is head on head! Well whatever was going through the thoughts of Armagh captain, Aidan Forker it had little to do with the normal phrase of ‘using the head’. It was more of a brain-dead moment.

Apart from the final act by Forker of head-butting Michael Murphy in the chest, the thought came to mind that the Football Review Committee (FRC) should review this type of carry-on which arises when a substitute comes on to the field; being pushed around and that leads to both players squaring up to each other. It always looks less than dignified.

It is a very poor spectacle and I’m not singling out Armagh here. Every county, including Donegal, are guilty at times of this. If cards were handed out or 13m frees were awarded it would soon be eradicated. FRC take note.

On Sunday last we had probably the greatest ever Donegal attendance at a league game  and a very large proportion of that attendance were young supporters. The official attendance given was 13,109, but it seemed greater than that. It is difficult to put an accurate figure on it but there were somewhere between 7,000 and 9,000 wearing Donegal colours.

Jim McGuinness referenced the great noise made by the younger brigade. He wasn’t asked to comment on the red card, but I’m sure he has his own opinion. You had an All-Ireland winning captain meeting a returning All-Ireland winning captain in a manner that was ultimately embarrassing for the Armagh man.

It was not the type of behaviour that you want young supporters to witness and ultimately the players at intercounty level are role models and even though amateur, they must carry some responsibility to act as such.

The performance of Michael Murphy after the incident, thankfully, created headlines of a much more positive nature. The football brain, unlike that of the Armagh captain, was switched on and within a minute he was firing over his first point with his left boot after anticipating an Ethan Rafferty kick-out.

The magic was there for all to see; the high-fielding with one hand to take a mark. He was able to knock over another from play and one from a free. If only he had been there in June and July of last year.

When the final whistle sounded in Ballybofey, Murphy was hardly visible in a sea of young supporters and his pathway to the dressing room was slow as he signed shirts and stopped for selfies. It was the perfect second coming.

The result of the game was never in doubt after the introduction of the Glenswilly man. Seconds before he came onto the field, Patrick McBrearty swung over the first Donegal point of the second half. It was a timely score as Armagh had cut the half-time deficit of six points down to two with a couple of two-pointers.

The new-found space under the three-up rule has made the life of the intercounty forward much more attractive. And with it the opportunity to score increases which in turn makes the product much easier on the eye. The likes of Patrick McBrearty must be relishing the increased opportunity. Now he mostly has only one player closing him down and there are few as accurate when given a little pocket of space.

The ability to transfer the ball quickly from back to front was always important but is more productive now with the pitch being made bigger by the three-up rule. Ryan McHugh had a field day in this regard on Sunday and his possession stats would have made interesting reading.

The transitions from back to front under the new rules are just mesmerising at times. It is more akin to a game of hurling, such is the swiftness of both the kicking and running game.

Are Donegal ahead of the posse in terms of fitness? They certainly look in tip-top shape. A couple of the other games in Division 1 at the weekend looked pedestrian when viewed along the Donegal-Armagh game. The Mayo-Tyrone encounter in Castlebar looked well below the normal Division 1 game with both teams struggling. The first half of the Derry-Galway game on Saturday evening was also something of a bore-fest. It seemed as if they were playing under the old rules.

But not so in the games involving Donegal so far. The entertainment value has been top notch and you would have to think that the players are enjoying it just as much as the supporters.

And so Jim McGuinness’s league and championship record in MacCumhaill Park remains intact.  Played 15, Won 12, Drew 3.

Sitting pretty at the top of the Allianz League Division 1 with full points from their opening three games, Jim McGuinness had a broad smile on his face at the press conference after Sunday’s game.

His team have adapted very well to the rule enhancements that have been introduced for the National League, probably better than most teams. The three games that they have played have all been entertaining and high-scoring.

Overcoming the three most recent All-Ireland champions - Dublin, Kerry and Armagh - by margins of 4, 2 and 8 points while amassing totals of 0-20, 0-23 and 0-21 is impressive by any standards.

The scoring stats on Sunday last are more impressive when you consider that they had no two-pointers. On the other side of the divide, you can point to 10 wides against Armagh and an even greater number in the opening game against Dublin. The pundits who might like to criticise the McGuinness coaching style have had very little ammunition to use this time around.

You could be picky and point to the absence of any goals in those opening three league games. Donegal haven’t had a natural goalscorer in their ranks since the retirement of Colm Anthony McFadden. It is not really a hindrance at the moment and with the advent of the two-pointers teams will probably only go for goals in breakaways or when necessary towards the end of games and the gap demands a three-pointer.

Donegal head for Pearse Stadium in Salthill on Sunday next in a very comfortable position. Will we see a much-changed team? Is it the perfect opportunity to use the extended panel? The panel members who have got second half game time in recent outings - for the likes of Odhrán Doherty, Eoin McHugh, Niall O’Donnell this would seem the perfect opportunity to get a starting place.

Others like Caolan Ward, Domhnall Mac Giolla Bhride, Cian McMenamin, Eoghan McGettigan, Jeaic Mac Ceallabhuí, Jonny Carlin, Charles McGuinness and even Gavin Mulreany must be in the reckoning.

That’s more than two thirds of a team, which might be too much at the one time. The opportunity is there and it is one that may not occur again for the season.

After Sunday McGuinness’s charges will be up against their other Ulster foes, Derry and Tyrone, and knowing the mentality of the Glenties native, defeat will not be contemplated.

How many points can Donegal accumulate? If they were to win their remaining two home games, that would take them to 10 and that might just be good enough to reach the Division 1 League final.

Those two games against Derry and Tyrone are taking place at Fr Tierney Park, Ballyshannon and O’Donnell Park, Letterkenny and they may well have to be all-ticket affairs given the numbers which turned up in MacCumhaill Park on Sunday last.

Throw in the return of Michael Murphy and hopefully a little less of the bitter east wind of recent weeks, the capacities of the Ballyshannon and Letterkenny venues will be tested to the limit. 

With Donegal due to play Derry in the preliminary round of the Ulster championship on April 6th in MacCumhaill Park, the thought of giving the Oak Leaf boys a practice day out in MacCumhaill Park in the league encounter was never going to be a runner.

However, with Murphy’s return, the fixture becomes very popular, not just for the regular Donegal supporters, but also for GAA supporters in west Fermanagh and north Sligo and Leitrim. The advice would be to get your ticket early and get to Fr Tierney Park early on Sunday week! As far as I’m aware that game is not available on live TV.

FRC REVIEW

The Donegal-Derry game will also be significant as the FRC meet after the round 5 games to decide on the rule enhancements going forward for the championship. There has been plenty of discussion on the various rule changes over the last few weeks.

There seems to be almost unanimous agreement that only shots from play from outside the 40m arc should be awarded as two-pointers. The free kicks that are being brought back out and scored at present just seem to be overly harsh penalties for sometimes minor infractions.

The biggest discussion is taking place on the use of the goalkeeper as an extra-attacker which even exists, as we saw last week in Ballybofey, when a team is reduced to 14. Armagh only had to keep two defenders back and were still able to create an overload of 12 v 11 in Donegal’s half of the field.

If the role of the goalkeeper is retained it will have a serious knock-on effect. There are natural outfield players who are presently playing in goals such as Armagh’s Ethan Rafferty; Niall Morgan of Tyrone and Rory Beggan of Monaghan.

Would it not be a no-brainer for teams to look for someone who could do a job in goals but also contribute in a meaningful way on the other side of the half-way line? Jim McGuinness laughed off the rumour mill once again on Sunday evening about Michael Murphy being a contender for the ‘keeper’s jersey, saying that it had not been started from within.

But seriously, if the ‘keeper rule is retained, it would be a no-brainer to put the No 1 jersey on the Glenswilly, especially for the final 30 minutes of a close game.

I think there is a body of opinion that says the goalkeeper role is a specialist one and should be restricted to his own 13m area and maybe that message is starting to win the argument. 

I have to admit that I’m conflicted on the issue. The skill that a specialist goalkeeper like Shaun Patton or Stephen Cluxton possesses would be greatly diminished. On the other side of the coin, the overload of 12 v 11 in the attacking half of the field opens up the chance of more scores and consequently more entertainment.

We will await the deliberations of the FRC review with interest.