Conor McManus Baffled By Strange Donegal Tactics Failure In All-Ireland Final Defeat

Though Kerry were superb in victory, Donegal will have been left bitterly disappointed by their display in defeat in Sunday's All-Ireland football final.

So much of the pre-match talk had centred around the tactical masterclass we might expect from manager Jim McGuinness, and how Donegal would look to stifle the influence of David Clifford.

Ultimately, Clifford had a field day and Donegal struggled to muster any response to Kerry's masterplan on the day.

The Kingdom came storming out of the blocks, and their attacking system worked in perfect harmony, conducted superbly by Paudie Clifford as David popped in and out of the game to deliver mega scores.

In the end, Donegal were outclassed tactically by Jack O'Connor's Kerry. However, it was a more basic error that left Monaghan great Conor McManus baffled.

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Donegal's defensive setup has rightly earned them plaudits all year but their forwards have been lethal when called upon throughout the championship.

Conor McManus will know that all too well, with his native Monaghan having been on the receiving end of a second-half hammering from Donegal in the quarter-finals.

Two-pointers were a big part of Donegal's success that day, but they were completely absent from their game plan against Kerry on Sunday.

That, argues McManus in his Irish Times column, was a fundamental error that cost Donegal big time, as Kerry ran riot with two-point scores at the other end.

Although they needed to cut the gap on the scoreboard significantly because Kerry were able to put up scores with hardly any fuss at the other end, Donegal made no sustained effort to shoot two-pointers. Maybe this was also following a process but they had no real experience of trailing a top team by so much.

They did, though, stay in touch with Tyrone and Monaghan by kicking two-pointers. It was hard to understand the reticence. A couple of snatched efforts in the second half appeared to be the sum of it.

Kerry have become devastating in their use of them.

It was indeed hard to explain for a number of reasons.

Despite Kerry's proficient defence keeping Donegal's attack at bay, they persisted with running the ball into the zone in front of goal, rather than taking the two-point opportunities presented by the space outside the 40-metre arc.

With sharpshooters like Michael Murphy and Oisin Gallen in the team, it was strange that Donegal did not once seek to exploit the two-point rule during the game's opening stages. By the time they did, it was already too late, with Kerry's forwards relentlessly scoring at the other end.

So much focus has rightly been on Kerry's superb showing in Croke Park. However, Donegal could easily have been in touching distance down the home stretch had they landed even a single two-pointer throughout the game.

Ultimately, Kerry outscored Donegal in two-pointers 5-0. With the winning margin ten points, it's hard to argue it wasn't a major factor in Donegal's defeat.