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Irish Times
27-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Donegal player ratings: Conor O'Donnell impresses at both ends but key men fail to make impact
1. Shaun Patton (St Eunan's) Donegal lost seven of their own kick-outs in the first half, but Patton's success rate improved in the second half. Had no chance for Kerry's late goal. Rating: 5 2. Finnbarr Roarty (Naomh Conaill) After a terrific season he was lost in the swamp of Donegal's zonal defence, like so many others. Had a shot blocked down in the first half. Rating: 5 3. Brendan McCole (St Naul's ) Having picked up trophy scalps all summer this was a bridge too far. Was taken for six scores by David Clifford, three of which were two pointers. Rating: 5 4. Péadar Mogan (St Naul's) Kept going manfully until the end but Donegal have been using their corner backs to launch counterattacks all season and it never materialised here. Rating: 5 READ MORE Ryan McHugh of Donegal in action against Kerry's Brian Ó Beaglaoich during the all-Ireland final. Photograph: Laszlo Geczo/Inpho 5. Ryan McHugh (Kilcar) Went off injured five minutes into the second half but didn't have his customary influence on the play before that. Not alone in his struggles. Rating: 5 6. Eoghan Bán Gallagher (Killybegs) Paid attention to Seán O'Shea without being his shadow. On that score he just about survived. Didn't handle much ball and was replaced with 12 minutes to go. Rating: 6 7. Coalan McColgan (Naomh Pádraig Uisce Chaoin) When the Kerry attack was rampant in the first half he suffered like everybody else in the Donegal defence. The game passed him by and was replaced at half-time. Rating: 4 20. Caolan McGonagle (Buncranna) Pitched into centrefield in a deviation from published line-up. He kicked a first-half point but Donegal struggled around in the middle, especially in the first half. Rating: 6 Donegal's Michael Langan in action against Joe O'Connor of Kerry. Photograph: Laszlo Geczo/Inpho 9. Michael Langan (St Michael's) Donegal needed a big game from him but he didn't deliver against a Kerry centrefield pairing that nobody would have envisaged at the start of the season. Rating: 5 10. Shane O'Donnell (St Eunan's) Kicked a point in each half and when Kerry had the ball he was often the player standing closest to Paudie Clifford, without ever laying a finger on him. Rating: 6 11. Ciarán Thompson (Naomh Conaill) Picked up an injury running through on goal after 20 minutes and was forced off a few minutes later. Had struggled to get into the game up to that point but a significant loss. Rating: 5 12. Ciarán Moore (St Eunan's) His dynamism had been one of the brightest features of Donegal's play this season and had been brilliant in the semi-final, but he couldn't make any impression here. Rating: 5 13. Conor O'Donnell (Carndonagh) Probably Donegal's most effective player. Kicked four points, two in each half, and made a terrific goal-line save when David Clifford rolled a shot past Patton. Rating: 8 Donegal's Michael Murphy in action during the All-Ireland final against Kerry. Photograph: Bryan Keane/Inpho 14. Michael Murphy (Glenswilly) After a slow start, he kicked two points in succession from play during Donegal's only productive spell in the first half. Couldn't get his hands on the ball in the final quarter. Rating: 6 15 Oisín Gallen (Seán Mac Cumhaills) Kicked three points from as many shots in the opening 22 minutes when Donegal were hanging on by their fingernails. Was sacrificed for fresh legs late on. Rating: 7 Substitutes Jason McGee made a big difference around the middle when he came on at half-time. Of the other subs, Daire Ó Baoill kicked a point and Paddy McBrearty missed two chances. Rating: 6 Management Donegal's zonal defence was cut to shreds by Kerry and Donegal's failure to tag Paudie Clifford was bewildering. Jim McGuinness and his management team didn't have an in-game solution. Outflanked. Rating: 4
Irish Times
24-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Kerry's Marc Ó Sé believes Kingdom will prevail over Donegal in tight All-Ireland final
Former footballer of the year Marc Ó Sé believes his native Kerry will beat Donegal by the minimum on Sunday. Speaking at an AIB event ahead of the weekend's All-Ireland Senior Football Final, Ó Sé says the counties' contrasting styles of will make for an exciting game, but reckoned Kerry would prevail if they can compete on Donegal's kickouts. 'I think if we can curb the influence of Shaun Patton, I would just expect us to get over the line by a point or two. I think everything has to go right, and to be confident I think we're going to have to make sure we really go after Shaun Patton. 'I think if we can tie down Shaun Patton and Michael Langan, I just see Kerry just pipping it by a point.' READ MORE The three-time All Star says Donegal's running game and team play will be pitted against Kerry's star quality, with David Clifford at the forefront. 'The big difference is that Donegal can get scores from anywhere. Kerry are really focusing on Clifford and Seánie [O'Shea]. Kerry's' Seán O'Shea and David Clifford during the All-Ireland quarter-final against Armagh. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho 'Kerry need to focus on runners, we've seen it all year from Donegal, the way their backs can get down the field. Just look at the Mayo game, look at Ciarán Moore, that lung-bursting run where he got down the field and got that great score.' But Ó Sé is keen to point out that neither style is necessarily superior. 'Don't think I'm the cute Kerry hoor who's trying to play Kerry down and Donegal up. My point is that Kerry are focused on maybe two or three players who get the scores, Donegal have that balance all over the field.' He adds his brother Darragh may have tried to get a reaction from the Kerry dressingroom earlier this season, writing in his Irish Times column that 'most people think there's an air of inevitability about what comes next. We'll beat Cavan on Saturday and then Armagh will put an end to it the following weekend.' [ Darragh Ó Sé: The margins are tight but Kerry have one thing that Donegal don't Opens in new window ] 'Darragh told me actually he was just trying to get the Kerry team going', the younger Ó Sé says. 'He got exactly what he wanted. It's been excellent the way the mood has shifted down here. It's gone from, 'Jeez, we're in the doldrums' to 'we're going to win Sam Maguire.'' In the only previous final between the sides in 2014, Kerry defeated Donegal in a low-scoring 2-9 to 0-12 decider that saw Jim McGuinness' first reign as Donegal manager come to an end. Ó Sé lined out at corner back for Kerry on that occasion, having had a rough day when the sides met in the 2012 quarter-final. 'The big thing in 2014 was that we got matchups bang on, we learned a lot from 2012. I think (Colm) McFadden caught me for three or four that day (in 2012) and it was like trying to keep the tide out. 'In '14 we certainly learned. We felt we didn't want to be as exposed as we were in 2012, so we made a conscious decision we weren't going to get sucked up the field. Aidan O'Mahony did a fine job on Michael Murphy.' In the end, many big games come down to a little bit of luck, he says, as was the case in 2014 when Kieran Donaghy intercepted a kickout for Kerry's winning goal. 'We did really work hard with our build-up, with our analysis, with our preparation for that game, but I always say you have to have the rub of the green in certain games.'
