2011 Donegal county football team season

Donegal county football team
2011 season
Manager	Jim McGuinness
Stadium	MacCumhaill Park, Ballybofey
All-Ireland SFC	Semi-finalist
Ulster SFC	Winners
	← 2010 2012 →

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

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

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

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

League

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)

24 April 2011

Final

Donegal	2-11 – 0-16	Laois
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)

Croke Park, Dublin

Referee: Marty Duffy (Sligo)

Ulster Senior Football Championship

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

15 May 2011

3:30pm

Preliminary round

Donegal	1-10 - 0-7	Antrim
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

MacCumhaill Park, Ballybofey

Attendance: 7,385

Referee: Maurice Deegan (Laois)

12 June 2011

3:30pm

Quarter-final

Donegal	2-14 - 1-8	Cavan
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.

Breffni Park, Cavan

Attendance: 9,325

Referee: Marty Duffy (Sligo)

26 June 2011

3:30pm

Semi-final

Tyrone	0-9 - 2-6	Donegal
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

St Tiernach's Park, Clones

Attendance: 18,536

Referee: Joe McQuillan (Cavan)

17 July 2011

4:00pm

Final

Derry	0-08 - 1-11	Donegal
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

St Tiernach's Park, Clones

Attendance: 28,364

Referee: Maurice Deegan (Laois)

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship

30 July

6:00pm

Quarter-final

Donegal	1-12 - 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

Croke Park, Dublin

Attendance: 39,612

Referee: David Coldrick (Meath)

28 August 2011

3:30pm

Semi-final

Dublin	0-08 - 0-06	Donegal
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

Croke Park, Dublin

Attendance: 81,436

Referee: Maurice Deegan (Laois)

Kit

Management team

Manager: Jim McGuinness
Selectors: Rory Gallagher,^[7] Maxi Curran
Goalkeeping coach: Pat Shovelin
Strength and conditioning coach: Adam Speer^[8]
Surgical consultant: Kevin Moran
Team doctor: Charlie McManus
Team physio: Dermot Simpson
Physiotherapists: Charlie Molloy, Paul Coyle, Donal Reid, JD.^[9]

Awards

All Stars

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 Brogan^FOTY	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

^ "Doherty resigns as Donegal manager". RTÉ. 28 June 2010. Archived from the original on 1 July 2010. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
^ "McGuinness appointed as Donegal manager". BBC. 26 July 2010. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
^ 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.
^ "Michael Murphy chosen to captain Donegal next season". BBC Sport. 1 December 2010. Retrieved 1 December 2010.
^ "Cassidy and Hegarty in McGuinness' Donegal panel". BBC. 17 December 2010. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
^ "Donegal snatch a draw". Irish Independent. 6 February 2011. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
^ ^a ^b "Donegal still hopeful for Molloy". Irish Examiner. 25 July 2011. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
^ 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'.
^ 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.

[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.

[examiner_25072011-7] "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'.

[pat_on_back-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.

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