DECLAN Bonner didn’t want to entertain the suggestion of complacency – and it was easy to see why as Donegal shattered Armagh to book their place in the Ulster final.
By Chris McNulty at Kingspan Breffni Park
During his pre-match press briefing, Bonner mentioned that he was ‘reluctant’ to talk of complacency.
Donegal’s Caolan McGonigle looks for a way past Armagh’s Rory Grugan during Saturday’s Ulster semi final. Photo Evan Logan
Instead, Bonner said he felt a ‘real edge’ to his squad.
Bonner watched as 13 players scored in a 1-22 to 0-13 win in Cavan.
“It’s the work rate of the team that I was really impressed with,” he said.
“It was a good all-round performance from the group. We’re delighted with that.
“It’s important. If you take your feet off the gas in the Ulster Championship, scores will start coming in against you fairly quickly.
“The attitude of the lads and the way that they applied themselves was very good. You could sense that in the build-up over the last ten days.
“There was a real edge to our training. We’ll look for that edge again for the Ulster final.”
Peadar Mogan’s goal crushed Armagh as Donegal booked a spot in a ninth final in ten years.
Bonner has been impressed by how his young guns have taken real responsibility.
He said: “They done extremely well. All over the pitch, they really worked hard. Any day you go out and empty the tank and give it 100 per cent, that’s all you can ask for.
“The 20 players who wore the Donegal jersey today did that.”
Mogan’s goal came from a move that saw Niall O’Donnell win a mark from a Shaun Patton kick-out. Three of their first-half points came from marks, scored by Caolan McGonigle, Hugh McFadden and O’Donnell.
Bonner said: “It’s there to be used when you can. We were happy with that element. I still wouldn’t be the biggest fan of it, but it’s there to be used. It can slow the game down, but while it’s there we’ll work on it.”
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