'Our aspirations in Division 2 is all about building momentum' - McGuinness

Donegal manager Jim McGuinness said seeing his team progress every game was as important as the two points his side secured following their 2-16 to 0-8 point victory over Fermanagh in a wet and dull O’Donnell Park. 

Following a dogged first half which only saw the home side lead by one point at the break, Donegal exploded in the second half outscoring Kieran Donnelly’s side 2-10 to 0-3, with both goals coming from half-back Daire O Baoill. 

“I think you have to be happy with that win, especially after getting a good result on the board. We were challenged a lot and questioned a lot, but luckily, we responded to that in the second half,” said the Donegal boss. 

“So, we’re happy with the positivity and the energy levels in the second half. That correlated with a lot of scores during this match as we saw.” 

The Naomh Conaill native pointed to his side’s ability to adapt with an ever-changing team, due to injuries and praised the impact of the substitutes and the energy they brought to the game in the second half. 

“We’re always trying to shake things up, that’s the name of the game. We’re looking at new things all the time and trying different things out, that involves going with different personnel too. 

“It was great to have Hugh McFadden back today, even though we only had him for 20 minutes. It was brilliant to see Michael Langan start the match as well.  

“We’ve been speaking about these players every week and who’s in and who’s out, but we’re very close now to having everyone back. 

“Having all those players back, that’ll add more energy and vigor to the group too. It’s important for everyone to know where they’re at and that they have competition for places in the squad. 

“We welcome all those players back next week with open arms, but on the game today, we have three wins and six points now, that’s exactly what we wanted to achieve, and it allowed us to look at players along the way and build a solid game plan.” 

With Armagh still with a game to play tomorrow against Kildare, Donegal sit at the top of the Division 2 league, with a serious chance of promotion to the top tier. 

However, McGuinness admitted that promotion was never on his team’s radar but rather taking it one game at a time and allowing the league table to look after itself. 

“We never focused on promotion to be honest, we’re focused on trying to get as many points on the board as possible. We know next week against Armagh, that’ll be a great game against a great side with a good management structure and a team that have been very close over the years to a significant breakthrough,” said McGuinness. 

“Having that win today builds confidence and sets the match next week up nicely for us.” 

The Donegal manager further discussed how the Erne County troubled his side in the first half but acknowledged that the impact of his substitutes, particularly Mark Curran and Jeaic Mac Ceallabhuí who McGuinness gave special praise towards. 

“If you saw Fermanagh today, they were very well coached and organised. The goalkeeper they had today, he’s an outfield player coming up the field on the attack and we couldn’t get our hands on the ball as much as we wanted too.  

“That means you’re not in control of the game and your transitional play is not where it should be, and because of that you’re forced to play a certain way. 

“So, we had to find a way of speeding the game up somehow. I think we looked leggy in the first half, so it was hard to achieve a fast game, but the longer it went on the more energy our lads had. 

“The national league is up and down and as long as you get the points on the board, that’s the most important thing. 

“I think Mark Curran was excellent today, he was full of energy going up the field. He broke tackles, he set up a few scores and he kicked his own score. That’s what we needed. It was nice to see that fire in the belly and see him as a catalyst for more energy in the second half. 

“Jeaic was brilliant against Cavan and today as well, he turned the game around two weeks ago, and he did the same today. He was excellent on the ball and he used it very well. 

“We as a team are learning more and more and we want to keep building from the starting 15 all the time. And a player like Mark and Jeaic showed we can do that.”