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BBC News
3 hours ago
- Sport
- BBC News
McGuinness urges Donegal to 'make the chance count'
Donegal manager Jim McGuinness said the ghosts of 2014 haunted him for a long time but are now at the back of his mind as his team prepare to face Kerry in Sunday's All-Ireland football Kingdom won by three points in the 2014 decider, which proved to be the Glenties man's last game in charge, but 10 years later he returned to the Donegal sideline after moving into soccer with Celtic before spells in China and the United home is where the heart is and the opportunity to manage Donegal for a second time proved too good to turn up for that 2014 loss may have been part of the motivation, but now back in the job, it's all about what's ahead, rather than what has been and gone."Your heart is always in your county so when the opportunity came and the conversations came up about coming back, they take legs in your mind," he told BBC Sport NI."I'm delighted we had those conversations and got back on the horse, so hopefully we can give it our best shot."The 2014 final was stuck in my head a long time, probably up until the point I came back in. You're always thinking about that, but as a manager, a coach or a player, the two weeks' [build-up to the final] is not a time for reflection. The time for reflection is when the final whistle goes." McGuinness is not the only recent returnee - as his captain from the 2012 All-Ireland success, Michael Murphy, came out of retirement to bolster the squad this year, having initially stepped away in 2022."It's brilliant to have him," said the Donegal boss."He's been immense and any of the younger lads, he's been brilliant with them. It's fantastic to have the footballer, but also the leader. Hopefully there's another big day in Michael."It will require a big performance from Murphy and the rest of his team-mates if they are to finish the job on Sunday as they come up against a Kerry side laden with is plenty to ponder for the Donegal boss, not least what to do with David Clifford, but it is a challenge he says they all must embrace."The challenge is fairly immense," he acknowledges."When you get the pen and paper out to think about David Clifford, it can be a blank page for a long time. He is an elite player and one of the best we've ever seen, if not the best. His brother [Paudie] and Sean O'Shea are all elite players who, on any given day, can beat you, but David is a bit special. The challenge he and those other lads will be huge, but that's where we want to be."The boys have done really well to create this opportunity and we are just hoping they can show their best colours and make it count."
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Conor McManus: A year on from semi-final defeats, Donegal may have improved that bit more
The seeds for this year's All-Ireland final were planted 12 months ago in the aftermath of semi-final defeats for Donegal and, especially, Kerry . They have both improved and learned the lessons of 2024. Under Jim McGuinness's original term of management, Donegal first became hard to beat and then in the second year, developed their attacking game and won the All-Ireland. He could well be on course to repeat that. If you go back to the game against Galway last year in the All-Ireland semi-final, there was a period where their attacking play really let them down. They managed just one point in the final 25 minutes. After that match, McGuinness didn't have to look too hard to find reasons for the defeat and his frustration was obvious when pointing out that his team had converted five out of 14 chances in the second half. READ MORE This year, they have the massive benefit of Michael Murphy back playing with them after two years away and the rest of the forwards have collectively picked up form. He's playing well enough to be an All Star but his influence goes deeper. If you look at Donegal in the huddle before any of the games, the last two men talking are Michael Murphy and the manager. I don't think you can underestimate his importance as a leadership figure, as a calming influence. Even for supporters, just to have him back on the pitch is huge. He's as much Mr Donegal as Jim McGuinness or Daniel O'Donnell! Now, there's no sense of panic about their attack, although there's that slight anxiety that they have only faced Division Two teams in the knockouts so far. I don't think that will be an issue for McGuinness. Their schedule leading up to it in Ulster and one of the All-Ireland 'groups of death' was extremely intense. Anyway, those Division Two teams were Louth, who are Leinster champions, Monaghan, already promoted back to Division One and Meath, who had beaten Galway, Kerry and Dublin. Midway through the championship, we were talking about Oisín Gallen not performing to his full potential but that concern has been laid to rest. He's confident and playing well. Conor O'Donnell was lethal in the semi-final, 1-3 from five shots. I think everything Donegal have done to date has been geared around performing at the latter stages of All-Ireland. Their defensive shape never deviated all year and there's also added quality with Finbarr Roarty coming in – you can see why McGuinness was so keen to get him involved last year. An excellent tackler, as he showed stripping Keith Curtis to start the move for Donegal's second goal, he also has the pace to get forward like so many of his team-mates. You'd have to think that the evolution is nearly geared towards the reality that if you're going to win an All-Ireland, in recent years, you're going to have to overcome Kerry somewhere along the line. Meath's Keith Curtis with Donegal's Finnbarr Roarty. Photograph: Tom O'Hanlon/Inpho Just as Jack O'Connor must have realised down in Kerry that if they were going to win an All-Ireland, they would have to able to see off the likes of Armagh or Donegal in Croke Park. The planning would have started almost as soon as they lost last year's semi-final, and you can see the specific improvements. There were no guarantees but they didn't have to be brilliant to win Munster and even when they had the horror show against Meath, you knew that would drive a response. Preparation had to be detailed and specific and you can see it in them. Defensively, they are well enough set up but they also look a wee bit fitter and stronger. David Clifford is a case in point. He just looks sharper and fitter and has definitely benefited from a proper preseason as well, having been involved with Fossa so often in recent years. Physically, they have added size, a bit of meat, around the middle as well. Mark O'Shea and Joe O'Connor, who is in really fine form, bring the kind of physicality and legs you need to beat the likes of Donegal, Armagh or Tyrone in Croke Park. Against Michael Langan, Hugh McFadden and Jason Magee, and even Michael Murphy coming out in the middle, you need size in that part of the field and they've got it. They have been a bit unlucky with injuries as well. Diarmuid O'Connor has been in and out and although he's back training, it's hard to see how he could be fully recovered from a shoulder injury like that. I'd expect Tom O'Sullivan and Paul Geaney to be fit, though, which is a significant boost for Kerry. I'm not sure there's that much to be learned from Donegal's only defeat. To be fair, Shaun Patton wasn't playing against Tyrone and he's a massive part of what they do. They did cough up a lot of possessions, though and it was easily their worst championship outing. They lost a winning position in the final 10 minutes but even had they hung on, it would still have been a bad performance. Kerry's Paudie Clifford with Tyrone's Eoin McElholm. Photograph: Tom O'Hanlon/Inpho Kerry came through two distinctive tests against Armagh and Tyrone but similar in that neither played a particularly zonal defence. Yes, Armagh did drop off a small bit in front of David Clifford and kept him to 0-7, but they got caught with Seánie O'Shea and Paudie Clifford running amok in the second half. Tyrone probably emphasised the opposite tactic, a man-to-man effort to restrict O'Shea and Paudie. They then were punished by David, kicking 1-9 off an often unprotected Paudie Hampsey. Donegal will look for middle ground here. Brendan McCole is as good a man-marker as there is but he won't be left to do it all himself. A lot of Tyrone's problems were also self-inflicted. They turned over ball by not minding it properly and some of their finishing – shot selection and execution – in the second half was fairly haphazard. They actually had attacking platforms – even when they were going through that second-half period that they lost 8-0 – but they just handled them badly, compared to Armagh who had no platform because they couldn't get their hands on the ball for those 15 minutes. Tyrone got up the field and got themselves into position, but their finishing let them down. I don't foresee Donegal having the same problems. If they get themselves into position, I think they're better equipped to put scores on the board. They will need to be careful with the ball because there were some careless turnovers against Meath but I they'll be on high alert for this. It's so finely balanced but I believe that in the end, Kerry have more fires to put out than Donegal.
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Donegal v Kerry: Throw-in time, TV details and team news about All-Ireland football final
When and where? Donegal will play Kerry in the 2025 All-Ireland senior football championship final at Croke Park. Throw-in is on Sunday at 3.30pm. Where can I watch? You can watch the final on RTÉ One, coverage starts at 2.15pm. Alternatively, the game is also on BBC Two, where coverage starts at 3pm. You can also follow the action on our live blog on The Irish Times Sport website . Paths to the final Donegal become the first team to play 11 championship matches in one season, their single defeat coming to Tyrone in a group stage game. Ulster Championship: READ MORE Donegal 1-25 Derry 1-25 Monaghan 0-21 Donegal 0-23 Donegal 1-19 Down 0-16 Donegal 2-23 Armagh 0-28 All-Ireland Series: Donegal 0-20 Tyrone 2-17 Cavan 1-13 Donegal 3-26 Donegal 0-19 Mayo 1-15 Donegal 2-22 Louth 0-12 Donegal 1-26 Monaghan 1-20 Donegal 3-26 Meath 0-15 Kerry, meanwhile, will be playing their ninth game in the final, also losing a group game, to Meath. Six of their eight victories have been by eight or more points. Munster Championship: Cork 1-25 Kerry 3-21 Kerry 4-20 Clare 0-21 All-Ireland Series: Kerry 3-18 Roscommon 0-17 Cork 0-20 Kerry 1-28 Meath 1-22 Kerry 0-16 Kerry 3-20 Cavan 1-17 Kerry 0-32 Armagh 1-21 Kerry 1-20 Tyrone 0-17 What are the bookies saying? Kerry are just about favourites with the bookies, 8-11 to evens, maybe favouring their experience in finals and/or the fact they have David Clifford . Can Jim McGuinness and Michael Murphy pull another out of the bag? Donegal manager Jim McGuinness celebrates with Michael Murphy after the final whistle. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho Donegal have only been in three finals in their history and Jim McGuinness was heavily involved in them all. Playing in 1992, they beat Dublin in the final. Twenty years later, McGuinness led Donegal to the Sam Maguire again as manager, and again two years later in a final they lost to Kerry. A fourth All-Ireland final beckons and they look as strong as they've looked since McGuinness was last at the helm. After losing in the semi-finals last year, legendary forward Michael Murphy came out of retirement after dabbling in punditry at GAAGo and with a column in this newspaper. Murphy, at almost 36 years old, has been a talismanic figure in bringing his county back to the final, as top scorer for Donegal and winning lots of aerial duels and physical battles. But the star of McGuinness's show is undoubtedly the collective, as well as their fitness and conditioning, where the tireless half backs and forwards like Ryan McHugh, Péadar Mogan and Ciarán Moore have had big seasons. Donegal defend in numbers and then counter up the pitch with intensity, and few have been able to live with them at full throttle, as Meath found in the semi-final. Can Donegal stop David Clifford? Kerry's David Clifford. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho What constitutes stopping David Clifford for Donegal? The Kerry forward is one of the best to ever grace the game and in seemingly unstoppable form. A masterful performance by Mick Fitzsimons for Dublin limited Clifford to only two points from play in the 2023 final, but even stopping Clifford to four or five from play or keeping him out of the goals could be considered a great effort. Clifford has scored four goals and 23 points in his last three games. If Donegal focus too many resources on stopping Clifford then his brother Paudie and Seán O'Shea can wreak havoc. The new rules focusing on attacking football have been a boost for Kerry, with the best forwards in Ireland, and it gives them the best chance of winning the Sam Maguire. Team news The teams will be updated here when they are made available. Diarmuid O'Connor participated in the full Kerry training session on Saturday, increasing hopes that the midfielder will make his return from a shoulder injury. Paul Geaney also took part after a shoulder injury, with Tom O'Sullivan still not fully back after a calf injury. Can I buy tickets? All-Ireland final tickets do not go on public sale, they go straight to the clubs. So it may be a case of knowing the right person, the amount going to each club at the discretion of the county boards of the competing counties. Raffling tickets is a common way to win them, so maybe have your fingers crossed for your lucky number to be called out.
Belfast Telegraph
16-07-2025
- Sport
- Belfast Telegraph
What Donegal's Michael Murphy has in common with Darth Vader as he comes under fire
What has happened to Michael Murphy? This is a question a friend, and Armagh fan, asked me recently, and one I saw again all over social media following Donegal's defeat of Meath. They aren't referring to his football ability because even the most anti-Donegal fan on the planet could logically argue that the flying forward has been anything but outstanding on the pitch in the 2025 season.
The 42
14-07-2025
- Sport
- The 42
'We all have our roles' - Donegal's long-serving point-scoring machines remain pivotal
IN THE 44TH minute of yesterday's All-Ireland semi-final, a Donegal attack into the Davin End goal culminated with a scoring flourish being applied. It was a typical team move, possession transferred at high speed with the ball-carrier constantly supported by clever angles of running from team-mates. And it was rounded off by the team's talisman hooking a close-range shot over the bar. Michael Murphy reigstered his sixth point of the game with that kick and Donegal's 15th. With Oisin Gallen having broke the Meath resistance for the opening goal two minutes previously, Donegal were eight clear and firmly in command. The Donegal support cheered jubilantly when Murphy pointed, just as they did for every other contribution he had made in the game, and then they rose in acclaim a minute later when the fourth official board went up to signify number 14 was being withdrawn. Murphy, Donegal's leader, was replaced by Patrick McBrearty, Donegal's captain, who would go on to notch three points and ensure his fingerprints were all over Donegal's attacking output for the remainder of the game. In that change, Donegal illustrated the range of attacking options they possess and the depth they can tap into in their panel. Jim McGuinness spoke afterwards about how it 'had been a hell of a long road back' from the misery of their defeat at this stage of the championship last year at the hands of Galway. At the time in his immediate reflections on their second-half fadeout in that game, McGuinness touched on the need to begin the process of improvement on the bus home to the north-west that evening. Advertisement After their destruction of Meath, the Donegal manager revisited that topic and stressed the increased strength of their panel had facilitated the transformation from two-point semi-final losers in 2024 to twenty-point semi-final winners in 2025. All year Murphy has offered reminders why the decision was made for him to return to the demands of the inter-county game last November, two years after his retirement. Murphy and Donegal have slipped back into a comfortable relationship, and in the county's quest to reach the All-Ireland showpiece forn the first time in 11 years, and only the fourth time in their history, his role was of fundamental importance. Two minutes into a match, which was bristling with anticipation beforehand as the expectant fanbases whipped up a storm, Murphy posted the opening score, gathering a ball on the loop and kicking confidently between the posts. Meath got a couple of lifts that underdogs require, a Ruairi Kinsella point here, an Eoghan Frayne point there, to edge into a slender lead. Nine minutes in and Donegal get a free within two-point range. Facing into a Hill 16 packed with a baying Meath mob, Murphy blocked out the noise and strode up before slotting the shot that prompted the waving of an orange flag and the restoration of Donegal's scoreboard advantage, 0-4 to 0-3. They never trailed again for the remainder of the game. The opening period provided snapshots of Murphy's immense value. The winning of the break off a Meath kickout that paved the way for Ryan McHugh's 12th minute point. Nailing the 28th minute free after Oisin Gallen was fouled. Getting on the end of Donegal's last move of the half that unlocked the Meath defence, but seeing his left-foot blast fly over rather than under the crossbar. Murphy was the last Donegal player to jog out of the tunnel to take up position for the start of the second half. He only last nine minutes, but added another score, before being withdrawn. The timing of the exit seemed unusually early, but despite murmurs of an ankle knock, McGuinness was quick to quell such talk. If the focus was to rest up ahead of the final date with Kerry, it was understandable. A couple weeks out from his 36th birthday and 13 years after lifting Sam Maguire as captain, his value to the Donegal cause is simply immense. His array of gifts – fetching kickouts, converting frees, clipping scores from play, directing offensive operations – make him indispensable for Donegal. The addition of Murphy to the attacking mix meant someone else was going to lose out. Once news of his comeback filtered through, the intrigue lay in how Donegal would get the chemistry right in their inside forward line. Patrick McBrearty has been the focal point for years. Oisin Gallen was an All-Star last year and fired 1-2 yesterday. Conor O'Donnell is in the All-Star conversation this year and bettered Gallen's tally with his 1-3 return. There is a dilemma in how to fit them all in. Right now the solution Donegal have settled on is holding McBrearty in reserve. For a forward of his experience and talent, along with the status of captain, it's not an easy position to get accustomed to. He hit the ground running yesterday, emerging from the bench to join a dominant Donegal team. In the 47th minute he snappily exchanged handpasses with Shane O'Donnell, gliding clear before sweetly striking over a point in that familiar kicking style. He replicated that finish for another point seven minutes later, moments after sharply releasing the ball to Peadar Mogan who rushed through to point. McBrearty's third score arrived on 57 at the close of another pacy team move and a minute later he shaped to shoot before laying off to Jason McGee, watched the ball travel to Gallen and in to Conor O'Donnell who booted home their third goal. The impact of McBrearty was glaringly evident and yet will it be persuasive enough to secure him a starting jersey for the final? 'You have three lads who are flying there,' summarised McBrearty afterwards. 'We all have a role in the team and my role at the minute is just coming in off the bench and it's to lift the energy in the lads in the last 15 minutes to blast it out. I came in with 20 or 25 minutes to go and try to move the bus up forward. We all have our roles and trying to get on the ball and getting shots off and just carrying the can. 'It's a big difference than starting the games. I came in a really, really good time today. We had just scored the goal and we had a big wave of momentum and just coming in and trying to work hard.' Related Reads Jack and David have decided that this state of affairs will not do. At all. McBrearty has enough games stockpiled to absorb the wisdom of how roles can change. He started the 2012 final win over Mayo, came on as a sub in the 2014 decider against Kerry and bagged two points. The years since have been frustrating and disappointing. 'When we left here 2014, I didn't think it would be 2024 until we reached our next semi-final. We massively, massively underachieved from '14 to '24 basically, in our eyes. When Jim came back, standards were raised back to where they were and we're just delighted to be back here, but you know they were a barren couple of years. 'We were winning Ulsters, teams were tipping us to go on and win All-Irelands and we couldn't do on the big days. Getting this man back obviously for that and getting back to days like this two weeks is gonna be massive.' There are only two playing survivors now at the disposal of McGuinness from the magical breakthrough Donegal enjoyed in 2012. Whether pressed in from the start or sprung from the bench, Murphy and McBrearty will be pivotal characters again on Sunday week. *****
