WRITE OFF DONEGAL AT YOUR PERIL
At the start of this year, Donegal’s senior players were said to have seen their best days.After last weekend, Fermanagh and the rest of the championship’s runners and riders know differently. by KEVIN CARNEY
2016’s screening of the ‘The Only Game in Town’ has been disappointing to date. The good news though is that we’ve been reliably informed that the love interest will make an appearance this weekend leaving everyone hot under the collar for the first time this season.
The storyline to date has been all too predictable; Antrim featuring just as an ‘extra’, Fermanagh the bridesmaid yet again. Armagh with just a cameo role. Derry making a dog’s dinner of the lines and Down reminding us again that they still lack the class to appear in ‘A’ movies.
Last weekend in Ballybofey, the script held good. It might have been an easy script to write but it proved well beyond Fermanagh’s ability to tear it up.
Moments after Tir Chonaill’s finest secured their 2-12 to 0-11 win over Fermanagh, quips of ‘they haven’t gone away, you know’ could be heard ricocheting off every side of the press box in MacCumhaill Park.
In putting the Ernesiders to the sword, Donegal gave the impression of a squad that is hell-bent on giving the race for the top prizes one more unmerciful rap.
As Fermanagh’s wait for a first-ever Ulster SFC title goes on, Donegal advance into what is very familiar territory for them. Old, familiar faces await. The live screening of Donegal’s semi-final meeting with Monaghan will take place at Kingspan/Breffni Park on June 25th. Big box-office stuff.
You’d imagine though that Monaghan and Donegal must surely be sick of appearing alongside one another on the same stage at this juncture.
It’s amidst fixtures cycles like this that you wonder just how players would vote if they were asked about the introduction of an open draw and the binning of the provincial championship system.
Supporters in Monaghan and Donegal must surely have lost count of the number of times their favourites have crossed swords in the league and championship over the past five …
