GAA Digest: Fearless Dongeal are back in the All-Ireland finals

What's going on on the GAA pitches in Ireland

Defender Karl Lacey can’t wait to get to the All-Ireland final stage as football fever grips Donegal.
Lacey said, “Getting to an All-Ireland final is what dreams are made of and we’re now one step away from repeating what we did in ’92.

“We know we have things to work on. Dublin or Mayo are waiting in the wings and whoever comes through will present us with a tough test.

“Getting to the final will be a big deal in Donegal. Our supporters have been great all year and they now have another massive day to look forward to.

“A couple of the Cork players came up to me afterwards and told me to make the most of being involved in an All-Ireland final, as they don’t come around too often.”

As the county comes back down to earth after Sunday’s win, Lacey believes manager McGuinness is just the man to keep the team focused.

The center-back added, “This week Jim McGuinness will get us all re-focused again and away from all the hype. We’ll be back in Croker again in four weeks with the intention of giving it everything.

“Jim knows what he is doing. Last year we took a lot of criticism for being so defensive, but it was Jim’s first year and that was the template he used to get us back to being competitive again.”

Cork Panic

Cork's season is over after what football team boss Conor Counihan described as a “panic attack” at Croke Park last Sunday.

The Munster champions lost the All-Ireland semifinal by just two points to Donegal, but the manner of the win was always more emphatic than the scoreline.

Counihan admitted to RTE, “It was tit-for-tat up to halftime. Second half, I think Donegal took a bit of control there, got a few scores. We probably panicked a little and gave a few turnovers and things like that.

“But, look, to be fair to Donegal they were a better team on the day. There’s no disputing that.

“Things like that happen on particular days. I can’t fault my fellas. They’ve given us everything over a good number of years. This is the other side of it, and we have to take that on the chin.”

Cork may now be heading for a transitional period after making too many wrong calls last Sunday.
Counihan added, “I felt we were taking the wrong options, and if you get excited you tend to take the wrong options.

“To keep the game alive you have to keep your head, and maybe at times we didn’t pick great options.

“Look, I think used the ball better when they got it to be fair to them, and I think that was the key issue.”
 
Brogan Fit

Dublin have received a major boost ahead of Sunday’s All-Ireland football semifinal against Mayo with confirmation that star forward Alan Brogan will be fit for the big game.

Brogan has been receiving intense treatment on the injury that kept him out of the quarterfinal win over Laois but manager Pat Gilroy expects him to be fit for Sunday.

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Nster.com