IN FAIRNESS TO him, when others are sniffy and distant from the supposed magic of a provincial championship, Jim McGuinness has always had a certain romantic view of the Ulster edition.
From he took the job, he made no secret that everything gets poured into the first day out. And here, he and his side staged a remarkable coup in beating – walloping – Derry.
“I suppose it is no different from any other year. Once you get the date it is the only date that matters is the first round of the championship and you have prepare and plan for that,” he said.
“From the day the draw was made you are planning for it. It wouldn’t have made a difference who it was it is the game you are targeting the first round of the Ulster championship.
“It is always a special thing for players. The setting was unbelievable tonight, so fortunate with the weather.
“We were getting absolutely pelted with the rain and hailstones on Monday night so it brilliant to be in summer like conditions and playing a top team in their own door steps. Great championship feel to it.”
They did it by targeting Derry and using Shaun Patton’s kickouts as a weapon. Mission accomplished as three goals came from that source.
“The kick outs are almost everything in the game now, it is incredibly difficult to shut goalkeepers down, it is just so difficult,” he said.
“A lot of teams are looking at that. They are also looking, ‘if that is the case’ we need options B and C as well and a lot of teams have those options. Derry done serious damage against Dublin over the top themselves and we did damage today.
“They are just moments in the game and sometimes that ball drops to you, sometimes it drops to them and sometimes teams put a lot of time and effort into trying to make them work.
“They are huge in the game now, the kickouts are huge in the game.”
It’s one thing to go after that, but they also committed bodies around the landing zone. And they had to gather the breaks.
“It is always the point that’s trotted out if you win the game. As I was saying earlier, a lot of these moments are very fine moments. It is almost like a ball you shouldn’t win and you get your hands on it can turn a game,” said McGuinness.
“To be honest, we were very poor in that regard the whole way up to this point. Breaking ball has been top of our list the whole way through the National League. You have to try. . . it is building blocks and building blocks and putting plans in place as best you can. Today they fell for us, the next day could be a different story.”
In the final analysis, Derry and their management will question their levels of hunger, how they were miles off the pitch of this game.
There were many pundits that suggested Derry might ‘take a dive’ in Ulster, in order to save themselves a gruelling route through to the round robin stages of the All-Ireland.
That was always fanciful when it came to a team managed by Mickey Harte.
But it’s a lifeline they will cling to now.
“Donegal were definitely sharper, sharper for the second balls, sharper for the turnovers, obviously we got caught badly for the kick-out over the top, we knew it was a distinct possibility but we felt we had enough people back there to deal with it,” said Harte.
“We didn’t deal with it well and it cost us very dearly. It seems strange that you wouldn’t be ready for that but we felt we were ready for it, felt we could deal with.
“We didn’t deal with it well and you have to hand it to Donegal, they came here with a very clear mind about how they were going to play, how they were going to create opportunities for themselves to win the game and they did that.
“Sometimes you have to hold your hands up and say they did things very well today.”
