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Irish Daily Mirror
6 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Cavan-Donegal TV info, throw-in time and more for All-Ireland football clash
Cavan and Donegal face off as part of a bumper weekend in the All-Ireland Football Championship round robin. Group 1 also contains Tyrone and Mayo who lock horns this Saturday. By the time these two teams throw in, the situation will be clear in the group. It's been a while since these teams last met, with the 2022 Ulster semi-final being the last time they clashed. Donegal won by six that day, with goals from Paddy McBrearty and Conor O'Donnell proving decisive. Cavan are fresh off a massive win against an admittedly abject Mayo side, winning by three points when it could have and maybe should have been more. Donegal will need to strike back with venom after Jim McGuinness' first loss in Ballybofey to Tyrone last weekend. Here's what you need to know about the big game: Sunday, June 1. Breffni Park in Cavan. The game is due to begin at 2pm. No, the game is not being shown on TV or being streamed on GAA+ but you can follow updates with our live blog. Cavan - 11/2 Draw - 12/1 Donegal - 1/7
Irish Times
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Ciarán Murphy: Tyrone's ability to stand the heat as Donegal emptied the tank was as compelling as it gets
The first thing to say about Donegal versus Tyrone last Saturday, before we get to all the things the last nine minutes taught us, is that it was great entertainment. Every weekend in this year's provincial championships and now, the All-Ireland group stage, has treated us to at least one thrilling game of Gaelic football. Some of that has to do with the restoration of the old stuff we've always loved about the sport, such as distance kicking and high fielding. But Donegal against Tyrone was different. It showcased some of the new ways the rule enhancements have brought the game forward, not taken it back to some imagined previous utopia. With 61.10 on the clock last Saturday, Paddy McBrearty hit a two-pointer that gave Donegal a two-point lead. They had finally made the burst for home. But 67 seconds later, McBrearty fumbled the ball, Tyrone turned it over and in a lightning break, Ciarán Daly set up Darren McCurry for a point. Donegal goalkeeper Gavin Mulreany took almost 30 seconds with his kickout. He plumped for the safe option which, in this Donegal team, is a ball in Michael Murphy's direction. Peter Teague outfielded him. Fifteen seconds later, Teague was in prime position for a pass from Eoin McElholm, but McElholm decided to go for the safety of a fisted point... and put it wide. READ MORE It took Mulreany another 30 seconds to take the next kickout. Again, he went for Murphy, who was adjudged to have fouled Conn Kilpatrick and Tyrone regained possession. Thirty seconds after that, Darragh Canavan was fouled and he kicked the resultant free with 64.38 gone. The teams were level. Donegal just needed the ball. Mulreany targeted Murphy a third time, but Teague won the under-hit kickout and they rolled forward. With Donegal's lead gone, Tyrone could afford to be patient. But they could barely hold the ball for a minute under ferocious pressure. McCurry ran down a blind alleyway but managed to shovel a pass away. Daly had a handpass charged down, but Tyrone somehow regathered. Tyrone's Darren McCurry celebrates his late score against Donegal in Ballybofey. Photograph: John McVitty/Inpho Perhaps sensing the pressure they were under, Peter Harte got on the ball 60 metres out. As he slowly advanced, Frank Burns charged towards the middle of the D. His run took the attention of the Donegal player standing sentry at the top of the new arc, allowing Harte to advance a couple of yards before sending over a two-pointer from the space vacated by that defender. Tyrone were now two up, with 200 seconds left. Donegal needed the ball. Mulreany went short, but his kick just beyond the 45 went over Michael Langan and over the sideline. Tyrone got the ball once again and a simple couple of passes had Kilpatrick straight through. He eschewed an easy point opportunity to go back out the field - the only moment in this entire passage where the players out-thought themselves. It takes genuine skill and composure to do what Tyrone did With 67.45 on the clock, Donegal decided they had to go man-for-man. Almost immediately, Tyrone ended up back in their own half. With 80 seconds left, Kieran McGeary was stripped of possession, Ciarán Thompson pounced on it, kicked it in front of him and Donegal had a strong shout for a foul on Thompson that wasn't called. But the pressure on Tyrone was becoming intense. As we entered the final minute, Tyrone were back within 55 metres of their own goal and Donegal's desperation was clear – it was one-on-one all over the field again. At 69.25, Tyrone's Cormac Quinn burst through a stretched Donegal cover and kicked a point to put them three up. Tyrone's Cormac Quinn evades a challenge from Donegal's Odhran McFadden Ferry to score the last point of the game. Photograph: John McVitty/Inpho With 12 seconds left, Tyrone had eight players inside the Donegal half to stop the short one. Mulreany's kickout once again went in the general direction of Murphy, but it flew way over his head. It was caught by Darragh Canavan, of all people, and they ran down the clock until the hooter sounded. Tyrone had scored the game's last five points and Donegal didn't have clean possession for the last seven minutes and 43 seconds. It was brilliant by Tyrone - and for Tyrone - but is it good? Why is this any different from the dull, boring final stages of games that we've grown accustomed to over the last 10 years? The answer is simple. It takes genuine skill and composure to do what Tyrone did in the face of quality opponents determined to win back possession. [ Conor McManus: Tyrone showed how new rules give forwards license to dictate terms of football Opens in new window ] [ Seán Moran: Losing managers' parting criticisms aren't always just deflection Opens in new window ] They held possession from 67.15 until Quinn's point at 69.25, but Ciarán Thompson certainly should have won a free halfway through that passage. When Quinn got on the ball, with 40 seconds left, he took on the shot because he knew his team was under severe pressure. The second Donegal went man-to-man it got difficult in a hurry for Tyrone to keep the ball. That's what makes these endgames so enjoyable. Players who could previously run back towards the safety of their goalkeeper whenever the press got within 10 yards of them don't have that luxury anymore. To hold onto the ball, more often than not you need to take on your man and beat him. If you're Donegal, you might reckon that even disregarding those five lost kickouts, they could easily have pressed the ball earlier. They might have had a bit more luck whenever they got contact on the ball carrier. Either way, if you manage to control possession for the final minutes, your will and your skills will be tested. And that's all we want.
Irish Daily Mirror
13-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Paddy McBrearty delivers honest assessment of Donegal's Ulster final win
Paddy McBrearty has made the victorious walk seven times in his illustrious county career, twice as Donegal's captain. On Saturday, McBrearty spearheaded his team to consecutive Ulster SFC titles with a nail-biting extra-time win over Armagh by a single point at Clones. Ascending the steps of the Gerry Arthurs Stand, he lifted the Anglo Celt Cup amidst the roars of thousands of Donegal supporters who flooded the pitch to partake in the festivities. The Donegal faithful are surely dreaming of McBrearty climbing another set of steps to hoist an even grander trophy later in the summer. Yet, to conquer that summit, McBrearty admits they must sharpen their ability to seal victories when ahead, having allowed Armagh to erase a seven-point lead before Oisin Conaty's last-gasp leveller pushed the game into extra-time, reports Belfast Live. "That was serious. . . in the last minute of normal time, we should have had it in the bag," McBrearty reflected. "It wasn't an easy changing room to go into, but, jeez, thank God a couple of breaks went our way there in extra-time and we got over the line. "But there's easier ways to win games, and that's probably the next step for us - that's something we're going to have to look at, because we were seven points up. "We let them back into it through our own mistakes, I felt, especially in our own kick-outs. We weren't winning our kick-outs well. There's a lot of things we can work on." When queried about what was said by Jim McGuinness in the Donegal dressing room after normal time, McBrearty responded: "I wouldn't repeat it. You couldn't print what was said in there, to be honest!". Whatever was uttered behind closed doors in the Donegal dressing room seemed to do the trick as, despite trailing twice in extra-time, the reigning champions managed to edge past Kieran McGeeney's side with Niall O'Donnell's point proving decisive. Armagh departed Clones without the provincial title and haven't clinched Ulster since 2008, but their impressive Championship record remains unbroken with Tyrone being the last team to defeat the Orchard County in normal time during the group stages in 2023. "They (Armagh) are a serious team, and there's nothing between the teams,"said McBrearty. "That was Ulster football at its finest. It has been four matches and we've only beaten them once in normal time, so they are a serious, serious outfit. "Even when we were seven up, we wanted to push harder because we knew that we needed a larger lead - we always anticipated their comeback. "I have to say, there wasa couple of yearsthere we didn't win anything, especially from 2019 to 2024, so we're delighted "When these days come, you can't let them go past you." After securing Ulster last season, Donegal were tipped as potential dark horses for the Sam Maguire, but they were defeated 1-14 to 0-15 by Galway in the semi-final. Donegal, with another Ulster crown secured, are shaping up to be serious challengers for the All-Ireland title one year on. Entering the All-Ireland series in a similar fashion to last year, their inaugural match is a home game against Tyrone in Ballybofey, followed by an away game versus Cavan and a neutral venue face-off against Mayo in the rest of the Group One bouts. Last season witnessed Donegal needing extra time to take down Tyrone in the Ulster semi-final, yet when they clashed during the group phase at MacCumhaill Park, Donegal triumphed with a seven-point margin over the Red Hands. Tyrone, now steered by Malachy O'Rourke, narrowly missed out on a win against Armagh in Clones earlier this month, having been ahead of the reigning All-Ireland champions by two points towards the end of the provincial semi-final. Despite Jim McGuinness's flawless record in Championship games against Tyrone, McBrearty is aware of their eagerness for redemption in the All-Ireland series. "We'll take the learnings from the game - obviously, there's big things to work on," the Donegal captain remarked. "Listen, Tyrone probably should have beat Armagh. You know, they had it in the bag, really, with a minute to go. They're going to be top opposition as well for us."
