Former Dublin midfielder and RTE pundit Ciaran Whelan says Jim McGuinness will have to tweak his Donegal team once again if they are to go one step further.
Whelan was speaking in the aftermath of Donegal’s defeat to Galway in the All-Ireland semi-final last weekend.
Despite a gallant effort, Donegal were beaten by two points.
Some have pointed to a somewhat lucky Paul Conroy goal in the opening half as being the difference while others claim Donegal just faded towards the end.
Speaking on the RTÉ GAA podcast, Whelan suggested that the Glenties man must concentrate on tweaking his offensive play to ensure they get over the line in future tight games.
He said Galway went long for the majority of their kick-outs, which worked really well and that when Padraic Joyce’s men got at Donegal early on, they caused them problems.
In the second half, McGuinness realised they were getting hurt on the long kick-outs and dropped off.
While some of Galway’s big names didn’t have the impact they would have liked, Whelan says Galway’s running game from the half-back line, the ability to find space around the D and quick hands allowed scoring opportunities for the Tribesmen, something their opponents struggled to replicate themselves.
“I felt they were one dimensional. They don’t kick the ball and they carry it up the field all the time and Galway were able to get into position and cut off the threat of Ryan McHugh and Peadar Mogan
“They weren’t getting in behind, there was no long ball option. They don’t move the ball fast by foot, they are extremely accurate, and have such a good range of shooters, but it was Galway that are battle hardened and can just mix it up more and change their game.”
