Former Donegal manager Jim McGuinness believes Donegal can upset the odds again and send Dublin hurtling out of the All-Ireland championship this weekend.
The two sides clash in the All-Ireland for the first time since Donegal’s memorable triumphant over the supposedly ‘unstoppable’ Dublin side two summers ago.
Donegal led by Jim McGuinness ambushed the Dubs in Croker, racking up a score of 3-14 in the process to produce one of the biggest shocks in recent years.
Fast forward two years, and the dynamic of the game is quite similar.
Dublin are reigning All-Ireland champions, and are going for two-in-a-row, and just like in 2014 have an aura of invincibility about them.
Many pundits feel Dublin are miles ahead of the chasing pack again this term, and don’t expect Donegal to upset the odds again like they did in 2014.
However, McGuinness feels Donegal can win, but feels they need to be offensive in order to do so, and said he was very impressed with their win over Cork at the weekend.
He said the match also represents the opportunity for Dublin to exercise their demons from that match in 2014, but has questioned is their desire as strong as it was last year?
In his column with The Irish Times, McGuinness wrote, “Now for me their approach to the game is critical, my feeling is if Donegal go defensive, they’ll struggle on the scoreboard.
“Dublin, by their nature, give players the chance to run the ball and kick it, this will specifically suit players like the McHugh’s, Frank McGlynn, Marty O’Reilly and Odhran MacNiallais.
“I still thin Donegal depend on their senior players like Christy Toye, Rory Kavanagh and the McGee’s to exert huge influence at critical times in big games.
“Obviously Michael Murphy remains the driving force behind the team, but I feel the energy can be dictated by the newer players.
“In short, I feel in order to win the game, Donegal must take them on, the Dubs average 24.3 points per game in the championship.
“Donegal must strike the balance between very solid defence and a bold attacking approach.
“I don’t mean an out-an-out shootout with them, but leave two or three players up the park so we can bridge the gap between defence and attack.
“Otherwise I don’t see how we will get enough scores on the board, we saw how slick and potent Donegal looked when they attacked in numbers against Cork.
“I think if they unleash that against Dublin, they will cause problems.
“I believe Donegal can win, but they face an immense challenge, and in order to win, they will have to get a lot of things right.
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