2014 Donegal county football team season
The 2014 Donegal county football team season was the franchise's 110th season since the County Board's foundation in 1905. The team entered the season looking to improve on their poor 2013 run and return to prominence for the first time since winning Sam Maguire MMXII.
| 2014 season | |
|---|---|
| Manager | Jim McGuinness |
| Stadium | MacCumhaill Park, Ballybofey |
| All-Ireland SFC | Finalist |
| Ulster SFC | Winners |
Jim McGuinness returned for his fourth season as the team's manager. Pioneer of the game's revolutionary tactic The System,[1] he entered the season with two Ulster titles (2011, 2012), and added a third this season,[2] before becoming the first manager in team history to lead his team to two All-Ireland Finals.[3][4]
Personnel changes
Manager Jim McGuinness installed a new backroom team, consisting of Damian Diver, Paul McGonigle and John Duffy.[5]
Ryan Bradley and Ross Wherity both emigrated after the 2013 season.[5]
Ciaran Bonner and Leon Thompson returned to the panel for the first time since 2009.[5] Christy Toye returned after missing the 2013 season due to illness.[5] Returning also were Thomas McKinley (Naomh Colmcille) and Antoin McFadden — both excluded in the early part of the 2013 season after featuring as part of the 2012 panel.[5] Conor Classon returned to the panel as well.[5][6]
Hugh McFadden joined the panel after manager McGuinness noticed him during the 2013 Donegal Senior Football Championship.[7][8] Also joining were Stephen McLaughlin (Malin) and Darach O'Connor.[5]
Panel
Team as per Donegal v Dublin, 2014 All-Ireland Semi Final, 31 August 2014
Competitions
Dr McKenna Cup
National Football League Division 2
Donegal won promotion from Division 2.
- 2014 Division 2 table
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | Diff | Pts | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Donegal | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 9-97 | 7-67 | +36 | 11 | Advanced to final and promoted to Division 1 for 2015 |
| Monaghan | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3-107 | 3-78 | +29 | 11 | |
| Meath | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 9-87 | 8-95 | –5 | 9 |
| Laois | 1-9 – 2-19 | Donegal |
|---|---|---|
| Galway | 0-12 – 1-16 | Donegal |
|---|---|---|
| Donegal | 2-11 – 0-10 | Monaghan |
|---|---|---|
| Donegal | 1-12 – 1-12 | Meath |
|---|---|---|
| Down | 1-9 – 0-10 | Donegal |
|---|---|---|
| Donegal | 1-19 – 3-7 | Louth |
|---|---|---|
| Armagh | 1-8 – 2-10 | Donegal |
|---|---|---|
Ulster Senior Football Championship
Donegal won the Ulster Championship for a third time in four seasons.
| Preliminary round | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||||||||||
| Tyrone (R) | 2-11 3-11 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Down (R) | 3-08 0-12 | Tyrone | 0-14 | ||||||||||||||||
| Monaghan | 1-12 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Monaghan (R) | 0-14 1-18 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Armagh (R) | 0-14 1-13 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Armagh | 1-12 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Cavan | 0-09 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Monaghan | 1-09 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Donegal | 0-15 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Fermanagh | 3-13 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Antrim | 2-18 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Antrim | 0-12 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Donegal | 3-16 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Derry | 0-11 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Donegal | 1-11 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Derry | 0-11 – 1-11 | Donegal |
|---|---|---|
| M Lynch (0-04), E Bradley (0-03), B Heron (0-02), C McFaul, N Holly (0-01 each) | Report | L McLoone (1-01), M Murphy (0-04), K Lacey, A Thompson, C Toye, D O'Connor, P McBrearty, M McElhinney (0-01 each) |
| Donegal | 3-16 – 0-12 | Antrim |
|---|---|---|
| D O'Connor, L McLoone (1-02 each), D Molloy (1-01), O MacNialais (0-04), M Murphy (0-03), C Toye, C McFadden (0-02 each) | Report | T McCann, B Neeson (0-03 each), M Sweeney (0-02), C Murray, P McCann, K Niblock, P Cunningham (0-01 each) |
| Monaghan | 1-09 – 0-15 | Donegal |
|---|---|---|
| P Finlay (0-04), C McGuinness (1-00), R Beggan (0-02), V Corey, K Hughes, C McManus (0-01 each) | Report | C McFadden (0-04), P McBrearty , O MacNiallais (0-03 each), M Murphy (0-02), A Thompson, K Lacey, R McHugh (0-01 each) |
All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
Donegal reached the All-Ireland Final for the second time in three seasons.
| Donegal | 1-12 – 1-11 | Armagh |
|---|---|---|
| M Murphy (0-05), O MacNiallais (1-01), C McFadden (0-03), P McBrearty (0-02), N McGee (0-01) | Report | T Kernan (0-04), A Kernan (0-02), A Mallon, A Forker, S Campbell, K Carragher, M Murray (0-01 each) P Durcan (1-00 own goal) |
| Donegal | 3-14 - 0-17 | Dublin |
|---|---|---|
| R McHugh 2-02, C McFadden 1-03 (2fs), M Murphy 0-03 (2fs), P McBrearty 0-02, K Lacey, F McGlynn, O MacNiallais, R Kavanagh 0-01 each | Report | D Connolly 0-05 (1f), P Flynn 0-04, B Brogan 0-03 (1f), A Brogan, P Andrews 0-02 each, P McMahon 0-01 |
Kit
Management team
Awards
All Stars
Donegal achieved four All Stars.
| Pos. | Player | Team | Appearances |
|---|---|---|---|
| GK |  Paul Durcan | Donegal | 2 |
| RCB |  Paul Murphy | Kerry | 1 |
| FB | Neil McGee | Donegal | 3 |
| LCB |  Keith Higgins | Mayo | 3 |
| RWB |  James McCarthy | Dublin | 1 |
| CB | Peter Crowley | Kerry | 1 |
| LWB | Colm Boyle | Mayo | 2 |
| MD | Neil Gallagher | Donegal | 2 |
| MD | David Moran | Kerry | 1 |
| RWF | Paul Flynn | Dublin | 4 |
| CF | Michael Murphy | Donegal | 2 |
| LWF | Diarmuid Connolly | Dublin | 1 |
| RCF | Cillian O'Connor | Mayo | 1 |
| FF | Kieran Donaghy | Kerry | 3 |
| LCF | James O'DonoghueFOTY | Kerry | 2 |
- County breakdown
- Kerry= 5
- Donegal= 4
- Dublin= 3
- Mayo= 3
References
- Duggan, Keith (2 September 2014). "Neil McGee: pushing bodies on was key to Dublin upset — 'We went away to a training camp for four, five days and Jim more or less broke down their game plan and we exploited it'". The Irish Times. Irish Times Trust. p. 2. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
One of the lazier stereotypes about the Donegal defensive game — generally labelled 'the system' — is that it somehow does the work on its own. But McGee had plenty of moments in the spotlight with Brogan on Sunday and took his turn roaming forward like the other Donegal back six.
- "Ulster Football Final: Donegal beat Monaghan in provincial decider". BBC Sport. BBC. 20 July 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
- "GAA: Donegal record stunning six-point victory over Dublin in All-Ireland SFC semi-final". Sky Sports. BSkyB. 1 September 2014. Archived from the original on 15 March 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
- Harkin, Greg (31 August 2014). "Written off by everyone — but Donegal tear up the script". Irish Independent. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
- McNulty, Chris (29 September 2013). "Ciaran Bonner, Leon Thompson and Christy Toye among 'new' faces for Donegal". Donegal News. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
- Boyle, Donnchadh (1 October 2013). "Christy Toye recalled to Donegal panel after year out". Irish Independent. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
- "McFadden powers Killybegs into last four". Donegal Democrat. 15 September 2013. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
The difference between the sides was full-forward Hugh McFadden, who caused havoc in the MacCumhaill's defence and finished with a tally of 2–4 to put himself in the shop window for Jim McGuinness.
- McNulty, Chris (5 October 2013). "SFC: Jason Noctor and Killybegs aiming to make up for 'wasted chance'". Donegal News. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
…Hugh McFadden's cracking 2–4 against Sean MacCumhaills in the quarter-final bleeped on Jim McGuinness's radar.
- Watters, Andy (15 December 2020). "A level playing field? Donegal coach Paul Fisher laments lack of resources in quest to close gap on Dublin". The Irish News. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
But Paul Fisher, the man who has overseen that programme for the last six years has reluctantly decided that it is time to move on. With a gym to run, a family to support and a Masters to complete, the Letterkenny native has stepped down after playing a vital role in the successes of managers Jim McGuinness, Rory Gallagher and Declan Bonner.