McGuinness hails Murphy's 'composure and leadership'
Jim McGuinness hailed Michael Murphy's "composure and leadership" after he faced down some immediate drama when making his return to the inter-county fray as Donegal won the battle of the Ulster and All-Ireland champions at Ballybofey. After looking in total control as they led Armagh 0-12 to 1-3 at half-time - having scored nine points in a row following Darragh McMullen's early goal - Donegal's lead was quickly cut to only two points within nine minutes of the restart.McGuinness judged that was the moment to end Murphy's 981 days away from inter-county football and it proved an inspired call. But even McGuinness surely couldn't have envisaged what was going to unfold next as Armagh captain Aidan Forker immediately became embroiled in a pushing match with McGuinness before headbutting the 35-year-old in the chest, which led to the Maghery man being red carded by referee Sean Hurson."The way he [Murphy] carried himself when he came on to the field and the scores he popped up with as well, that composure and leadership is a massive addition for us," said the Donegal manager.Seconds after Forker's departure, Murphy pointed with his left foot and quickly added Donegal's next score as the air went out of Armagh's attempted comeback.A midfield fetch emphasised Murphy's fine current fettle and he added another point for good measure late on as Donegal completed a 0-21 to 1-10 victory to maintain their winning run through the opening three rounds of Allianz Football League Division One."He was probably just ready, I've been very careful with him, we're trying to do that with them all, the championship is seven weeks away so it's a quick flip and we do not want to take any chances with him," said McGuinness, who did not initially name Murphy in the squad on Sunday morning, before making the late change to his substitutes."I don't want to bring him back if he's going to come on and get injured. I didn't want to rush him and the same with number of other players. "The six points now gives us a bit of a cushion in terms of relegation and staving that off and hopefully now we don't have to take any risks with any of the players over the coming weeks."
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