Donegal have plenty in the tank, says Lee Keegan

RTÉ News​

01-07-2025

Lee Keegan believes that Donegal still have plenty in the tank heading into the business end of the All-Ireland senior football championships, despite some of the protestations of their manager.
Donegal turned in a stirring second-half display in their quarter-final victory over Monaghan as they overcame a seven-point half-time deficit to defeat their provincial 1-26 to 1-20.
Manager Jim McGuinness has spoken about against the "gruelling schedule" his side have been handed and was particularly unhappy with the amount of travelling his side have had to do so far in the championship, along with the quick turn around in terms of their fixtures.
The victory over Monaghan was their ninth game of the season, having won the Ulster title from the preliminary round and they had to face their Ulster rivals just six days after beating Louth.
However, speaking on the RTÉ GAA Podcast, Keegan insisted that Donegal looked fresh and he was particularly impressed with their second-half fightback in Croke Park.
"That 1-15 was a huge score in the second-half," Keegan said. "I think it was just down to their mindset when they came out, you wouldn't think Donegal had a six day turn around.
"Michael Langan was as quiet as I'd seen him in the first half of that game, I though Monaghan did a great job on him but when the penny dropped and he hit that goal, he went on a tear.
"I think Donegal will be delighted with their response.
"One player for me and he doesn't get half the credit he deserves is Shane O'Donnell. I think the shift he puts in is huge. He's a guy who doesn't back himself to score but he seemed to just turn the dial up at the weekend, he kicked four brilliant points and I thought he ran the show really well.
"Their biggest question mark moving on is Oisin Gallen. He started red hot and hit a point but then he goes out of the game for 15 minutes and he might hit another one. It's trying to get that consistency with him because he has the talent, he has the pedigree and he has the accuracy."
Keegan believes that McGuinness will be pleased by what he saw against Monaghan, while still finding room for improvement.
"I think Donegal will be delighted, they have plenty to work on and they're in a really good position in terms of what their gameplan is about," he said.
"They probably do need to kick it a little more but when you have a team that can run as hard and direct as they do, that is still hard to stop.
"This six day turn-around, you have Ciaran Moore who is 22, you have Finnbarr Roarty who is 19, these players are flying."
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