2011 Donegal county football team season

The following is a summary of Donegal county football team's 2011 season.

Donegal county football team
2011 season
ManagerJim McGuinness
StadiumMacCumhaill Park, Ballybofey
All-Ireland SFCSemi-finalist
Ulster SFCWinners
← 2010
2012 →

The 2011 Donegal county football team season was the franchise's 107th season since the County Board's foundation in 1905. The team ended the season as Ulster champions after winning the 2011 Ulster Senior Football Championship. It was their sixth title and a first since Brian McEniff led the team to Sam MCMXCII.

Personnel changes

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Ahead of the new season, Jim McGuinness was appointed as the team's manager, bringing to an end the era of John Joe Doherty.[1][2] The arrival of McGuinness brought the first appearance of a soon-to-be revolutionary tactic The System.[3]

McGuinness selected Michael Murphy as Donegal team captain, replacing Kevin Cassidy in the role.[4]

Panel

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New manager Jim McGuinness included Kevin Cassidy (who intended to retire at the end of the previous season) and Michael Hegarty (who was not involved in the previous season) in his squad for the 2011 Dr McKenna Cup. Also named were several of the under-21s, including Peter Boyle, Thomas McKinley, Daniel McLaughlin, Kevin Mulhern and Antoin McFadden, and Johnny Bonner and Marty Boyle, stars of Naomh Conaill's run to the 2010 Ulster club football final.[5] Johnny Bonner did not play in any of the league games.

McKenna Cup panel

Paul Durcan, Peter Boyle, Karl Lacey, Neil McGee, Barry Dunnion, Johnny Bonner, Tomas McKinley, Edward Kelly, Neil Gallagher, Rory Kavanagh, Christopher Murrin, Dermot Molloy, Michael Hegarty, Colm McFadden, Daniel McLaughlin, Marty Boyle, David Walsh, Adrian Hanlon, Michael Murphy, Paddy McGrath, Kevin Mulhern, Leo McLoone, Ryan Bradley, Kevin Cassidy, Frank McGlynn, Antoin McFadden.

Details

Team as per Donegal v Kildare, 2011 All-Ireland Quarter-final, 30 July 2011

No. Player Position Club
1 Paul Durcan Goalkeeper The Four Masters
2 Frank McGlynn Right corner back Glenfin
3 Neil McGee Full back Gaoth Dobhair
4 Paddy McGrath Left corner back Ard an Rátha
5 Anthony Thompson Right half back Naomh Conaill
6 Karl Lacey Centre back The Four Masters
7 Kevin Cassidy Left half back Gaoth Dobhair
8 Neil Gallagher Midfield Glenswilly
9 Rory Kavanagh Midfield St Eunan's
10 Mark McHugh Right half forward Cill Chartha
11 Michael Hegarty Centre forward Cill Chartha
12 Ryan Bradley Left half forward Buncrana
13 Patrick McBrearty Right corner forward Cill Chartha
14 David Walsh Full forward Naomh Bríd
15 Colm McFadden Left corner forward St Michael's
No. Player Position Club
16 Michael Boyle Goalkeeper Termon
17 Eddie Kelly Full back Urris
18 Michael Maguire Right corner back Glencolumbkille
19 Kevin Rafferty Midfield St Eunan's
20 Ciarán Mac Grianna Centre forward St Eunan's
21 Ross Wherity Centre forward St Eunan's
22 Fergal McNulty Full forward An Urnaigh
23 Gareth Concarr Right half forward Ard an Rátha
24 Ross Wherity Right half back St Eunan's
25 Barry Dunnion Right half back The Four Masters
26 Brendan Boyle Left half forward Ard an Rátha
27 Lee McFadden Goalkeeper Cloich Cheann Fhaola
28 Eoin Waide Left half back Naomh Conaill
29 Leo McLoone Center half forward Naomh Conaill

Christy Toye (St Michael's)

Championship panel

Competitions

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League

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Opener: win vs Sligo[6]

5 February 2011 Round 1 Donegal 2-11 – 1-14 Sligo Ballybofey
M Murphy 1-2 (pen, 2f), N McGee 1-0, L McLoone, D Molloy 0-2 (2f) each, C McFadden 0-3, S Griffin, R Kavanagh 0-1 each. Report M Breheny (2f), A Marren 0-4 each; D Kelly 1-1; T Taylor 0-2, S Gilmartin, M Quinn, S Davey 0-1 each. Referee: Pádraig Hughes (Armagh)
19 February 2011 Round 2 Tyrone 0-06 – 1-10 Donegal Omagh
M Penrose 0-3 (3f), S Cavanagh (f), P Harte, E McGinley 0-1 each Report D Molloy 1-2, C McFadden 0-4 (3f), M Murphy 0-3 (2f), L McLoone 0-1 Referee: P Fox (Westmeath)
27 February 2011 Round 3 Donegal 0-08 – 1-05 Kildare Letterkenny
M Murphy 0-4 (4f), C McFadden 0-2 (2f), R Kavanagh, M Hegarty 0-1 each Report M Foley 1-0, F Dowling 0-2 (2f), E O'Flaherty, K Cribbin, E Callaghan 0-1 each Referee: M Duffy (Sligo)
13 March 2011 Round 4 Meath 0-9 – 0-15 Donegal Páirc Tailteann, Navan
B Sheridan (2f), S O'Rourke (1f) 0-2 each, B Meade, N Crawford, J Sheridan ('45'), B Farrell (f), T Skelly 0-1 each. Report M Murphy 0-6 (2f), R Bradley, C McFadden (1f) 0-3 each, R Kavanagh 0-2, D Molloy 0-1 Referee: M Higgins (Fermanagh)
19 March 2011 Round 5 Derry 2-12 – 2-18 Donegal Celtic Park, Derry
C O'Boyle 2-1, C Gilligan 0-6 (6f), G O'Kane 0-2, C McGoldrick, E. Muldoon, C Kielt 0-1 each. Report M Murphy 1-7 (6f), C McFadden 1-3, D Molly 0-5 (5f), K Lacey, R Kavanagh, M McElhinney 0-1. Referee: P Hughes (Armagh)
3 April 2011 Round 6 Donegal 1-17 – 0-08 Antrim Ballyshannon
C McFadden 1-5 (2f), M Murphy 0-3 (2f), K Cassidy, D Molloy (2f), M Hegarty 0-2 each, R Bradley, K Lacey, R Kavanagh 0-1 each Report T McCann 0-5 (3f), B Neeson 1-1 (1f), T O'Neill 0-2 Referee: M Duffy (Sligo)
10 April 2011 Round 7 Laois 1-15 – 1-11 Donegal O'Moore Park, Portlaoise
MJ Tierney 1-10 (9f, 1 '45), M Timmons, D Strong , P O'Leary, C Begley, J O'Loughlin 0-1 each Report D Molloy 1-1, C McFadden 0-3 (2f), M Murphy (1f), R Kavanagh, M McElhinney 0-2 each, A Thompson 0-1 Referee: M Higgins (Fermanagh)
Final
Donegal2-11 – 0-16Laois
Michael Murphy (1-3), Colm McFadden (1-3), Kevin Cassidy (0-1), Rory Kavanagh (0-1), Mark McHugh (0-1), Ryan Bradley (0-1), D Walsh (0-1) Report Donie Kingston (0-4), Paul Cahillane (0-3), John O'Loughlin (0-2), Niall Donoher (0-2), Ross Munnelly (0-2), Darren Strong (0-1), Colm Begley (0-1), Michael John Tierney (0-1)
Referee: Marty Duffy (Sligo)

Ulster Senior Football Championship

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Kevin Rafferty missed the Ulster SFC final with an abductor muscle injury.[7]

Preliminary round
Donegal1-10 - 0-7Antrim
M McHugh 1-1, M Murphy 0-3 (3f), R Bradley, C McFadden (1f) 0-2 each, D Molloy, A Hanlon 0-1 each Report T McCann, P Cunningham (1f), K Niblock (2f) 0-2 each, M Dougan 0-1
Attendance: 7,385
Quarter-final
Donegal2-14 - 1-8Cavan
P McBrearty 1-3 (1f), C McFadden 0-5 (2f), R Kavanagh 1-0, D Molloy 0-2, K Cassidy, K Rafferty, L McLoone and M Murphy 0-1(f) each Report M Brennan 1-1, N McDermott 0-4 (3f), G McKiernan, F Flanagan and S Johnston 0-1 (f) each.
Attendance: 9,325
Referee: Marty Duffy (Sligo)
Semi-final
Tyrone0-9 - 2-6Donegal
S O'Neill 0-2, S Cavanagh 0-2 (1f), P Jordan, B Dooher, O Mulligan, M Penrose and P Harte (f) 0-1 each Report C McFadden 1-1 (1f), D Molloy 1-0, M Murphy 0-2 (1f), K Cassidy, K Rafferty and P McBrearty 0-1 each
Attendance: 18,536
Referee: Joe McQuillan (Cavan)
Final
Derry0-08 - 1-11Donegal
J Kielt 0-04 (2f), C Kielt 0-02, C Gilligan (f), M Donaghy 0-01 each Report Report M Murphy 1-02 (1-00 pen), C McFadden 0-04 (2f), M Hegarty, A Thompson 0-02 each, R Bradley 0-01
Attendance: 28,364

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship

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Quarter-final
Donegal1-12 - 0-14
A.E.T.
Kildare
C Toye 1-1, M Murphy 0-3 (1f), K Cassidy 0-2, K Lacey, R Kavanagh, M McHugh, R Bradley, P McBrearty, D Molloy 0-1 each Report E O'Flaherty 0-6 (4f), A Smith 0-2, E Bolton, P O'Neill, E Callaghan, J Kavanagh, G White (f), R Sweeney 0-1 each
Attendance: 39,612
Semi-final
Dublin0-08 - 0-06Donegal
B Brogan 0-04 (4f), S Cluxton 0-02 (1f, 1 '45), B Cullen, K McManamon 0-01 each Report C McFadden 0-4 (2f), K Cassidy, R Bradley 0-01 each
Attendance: 81,436
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Management team

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Awards

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All Stars

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Donegal achieved three All Stars.

Pos. Player Team Appearances
GK   Stephen Cluxton Dublin 4
RCB   Marc Ó Sé Kerry 3
FB   Neil McGee Donegal 1
LCB   Michael Foley Kildare 1
RWB   Kevin Cassidy Donegal 2
CB   Karl Lacey Donegal 3
LWB   Kevin Nolan Dublin 1
MD   Bryan Sheehan Kerry 1
MD   Michael D. Macauley Dublin 1
RWF   Darran O'Sullivan Kerry 1
CF   Alan BroganFOTY Dublin 3
LWF   Paul Flynn Dublin 1
RCF   Colm Cooper Kerry 7
FF   Andy Moran Mayo 1
LCF   Bernard Brogan Dublin 2
County breakdown
  • Dublin = 6
  • Kerry = 4
  • Donegal = 3
  • Mayo = 1
  • Kildare = 1

References

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  1. ^ "Doherty resigns as Donegal manager". RTÉ. 28 June 2010. Archived from the original on 1 July 2010. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
  2. ^ "McGuinness appointed as Donegal manager". BBC. 26 July 2010. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
  3. ^ 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. 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.
  4. ^ "Michael Murphy chosen to captain Donegal next season". BBC Sport. 1 December 2010. Retrieved 1 December 2010.
  5. ^ "Cassidy and Hegarty in McGuinness' Donegal panel". BBC. 17 December 2010. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
  6. ^ "Donegal snatch a draw". Irish Independent. 6 February 2011. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
  7. ^ a b "Donegal still hopeful for Molloy". Irish Examiner. 25 July 2011. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
  8. ^ Craig, Frank (17 September 2020). "Devenney doesn't expect the decider to be a classic". Donegal News. p. 57. Devenney said [regarding the 2020 Donegal SFC final, ahead of its second postponement]: 'Kilcar are so well conditioned. They've Adam Speer in the background. He's a top man. He was with Donegal in 2012 and he knows how to get teams into that frame of physical fitness'.
  9. ^ Craig, Frank. "Interview: Keepers deserve their 'Pat' on the back". Ardara. Archived from the original on 25 February 2015. As well as Pat, the hospital's surgical consultant, Kevin Moran; team doctor, Charlie McManus and team physio, Dermot Simpson, are all part of McGuinness' backroom team.