DANIEL GUINNESS SMILES and tells reporters on the O’Donnell Park, Letterkenny pitch that he’s not sure if he is allowed to speak to reporters.
One of Conor Laverty’s parting items of information for them as they left the dressing rooms that, once they won, they were to stay tight-lipped.
As it turns out, Laverty was fine with his players talking. But it was another kernel of belief, of painting the picture of what would happen when they performed a brutal takedown of the Ulster champions.
Any upset is always helped by the arrival of goals, and the timing of them. Down scored three in the second half. Two arrived late through Miceál Rooney and sunk Donegal entirely.
The first was a rapier cut through the defence and an low drive to the net from the superb Daniel Guinness from all of 21 yards, on 42 minutes, that gave Down an injection of adrenaline.
“You can’t beat a Donegal team or a team that’s deemed as the favourites if you don’t find the net a few times,” says Guinness, almost bashfully.
“I think we knew coming into the game we would need goals to win the game. But whenever we got in there, the boys took them today. Miceál finished with two goals, so I don’t think he’s done that too often.
“We knew we’d create the chances, it’s just, ‘could we take them?’
Ask him to talk about his own goal and he downplays it.
“Look, whenever you get in there, you sort of know when you’re playing a team like Donegal, they’re going to take their chances.
“So, whenever you get in there, just have a go.”
The riposte arrives that he was so far out, he wasn’t even ‘in there.’
“I’d just seen a gap and I went in. It’s probably a different story if it doesn’t go in, but I went in today,” he laughs.
What really stretched Donegal, and will be noted by other contenders, was that Down refused to play the game on their terms. When they had the ball, they seldom checked back and allowed Donegal into their defensive shell, where they are comfortable and can force turnovers.
Instead, the ball went forward and in almost every attack, they had overlapping runners.
“Yeah, that’s sort of what we think we’re about. Obviously, rightfully, we’ve received a bit of stick after the league final for our performance,” says Guinness, referring back to their narrow extra-time win in the division 3 final against Wexford.
“But we know what we’re about, we know we can bring, just can you bring it on the day?”
While they were aware of what Donegal were going to do, they just had to go for it, he states.
“I don’t know if there’s really a way to break them down. I just think you sort of use your strengths and see what they can cope with it. I don’t know if we’d really had a plan to break them down as such.
“It’s just, can you play fast? And with the new rules, it’s hard to defend. We know that when a team gets a run on you, it’s hard to stop.”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
'We know what we're about' - Guinness on Down toppling Donegal and McGuinness
DANIEL GUINNESS SMILES and tells reporters on the O’Donnell Park, Letterkenny pitch that he’s not sure if he is allowed to speak to reporters.
One of Conor Laverty’s parting items of information for them as they left the dressing rooms that, once they won, they were to stay tight-lipped.
As it turns out, Laverty was fine with his players talking. But it was another kernel of belief, of painting the picture of what would happen when they performed a brutal takedown of the Ulster champions.
Any upset is always helped by the arrival of goals, and the timing of them. Down scored three in the second half. Two arrived late through Miceál Rooney and sunk Donegal entirely.
The first was a rapier cut through the defence and an low drive to the net from the superb Daniel Guinness from all of 21 yards, on 42 minutes, that gave Down an injection of adrenaline.
“You can’t beat a Donegal team or a team that’s deemed as the favourites if you don’t find the net a few times,” says Guinness, almost bashfully.
“I think we knew coming into the game we would need goals to win the game. But whenever we got in there, the boys took them today. Miceál finished with two goals, so I don’t think he’s done that too often.
“We knew we’d create the chances, it’s just, ‘could we take them?’
Ask him to talk about his own goal and he downplays it.
“Look, whenever you get in there, you sort of know when you’re playing a team like Donegal, they’re going to take their chances.
“So, whenever you get in there, just have a go.”
The riposte arrives that he was so far out, he wasn’t even ‘in there.’
“I’d just seen a gap and I went in. It’s probably a different story if it doesn’t go in, but I went in today,” he laughs.
What really stretched Donegal, and will be noted by other contenders, was that Down refused to play the game on their terms. When they had the ball, they seldom checked back and allowed Donegal into their defensive shell, where they are comfortable and can force turnovers.
Instead, the ball went forward and in almost every attack, they had overlapping runners.
“Yeah, that’s sort of what we think we’re about. Obviously, rightfully, we’ve received a bit of stick after the league final for our performance,” says Guinness, referring back to their narrow extra-time win in the division 3 final against Wexford.
“But we know what we’re about, we know we can bring, just can you bring it on the day?”
While they were aware of what Donegal were going to do, they just had to go for it, he states.
“I don’t know if there’s really a way to break them down. I just think you sort of use your strengths and see what they can cope with it. I don’t know if we’d really had a plan to break them down as such.
“It’s just, can you play fast? And with the new rules, it’s hard to defend. We know that when a team gets a run on you, it’s hard to stop.”
****
Check out the latest episode of The42′s GAA Weekly podcast here
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
back of the net Daniel in Lions Den Daniel my son GAA Gaelic Football guinness is good for you