Cork vs Donegal , Sun 26th .

Market is up, no money up yet tho

I think Cork -1 are a great bet, they have the ability to more then match Donegal in the Physicality stakes and their running game from deep is not reliant on finding space behind the full back.

Cork -1 in what will surely be a dour, tight, tuff,low scoring game ? remember this is Cork  footballers
enjoy the ride, but hold onto something tight..........

Kerry's best chance of beating them went when the weather was poor the day of the match.

With the 'Summer' we've had to date, I wouldn't be falling over myself to back Cork -1 on a wet, inclement afternoon at HQ.

Karl Lacey shipping a heavy blow to the knee was arguably the turning point in last year's AL SF with the Dubs.

They weren't that far away last year & have added the firepower up front [as Down supporters can atest to].

Down have franked no ones form. They were unfit. Cork are the best team in the country.

Unfit??

I find that a remarkable statement to make about a modern, IC SFC side.

cork -1 does seem like an unbelievably good bet..think it should be -3 or -4...the deciding factor should be corks ability to score from play around the 45..as a bet id put up cork to score from play first..donegal give up very few frees and cork should win the hop ball..usually be priced up around the 2-1 mark

Unfit by championship standards, I thought a few of the backs didn't look physically up to it particularly how they finished the game, and yes they were absolutely awful against Mayo so I'm not sure I would want to use them as a marker for this Donegal side.

Donegal are a top 3 side with Dublin and Cork, I think Donegal and Dublin are tough to split but I think Cork are a good bit ahead.

my fear for cork would be that they have yet to be tested....they will never have met a team with the tenacity of donegal.....it will be a bitter battle to the end which i expect donegal to come thru by a point or 2.....they are technically better prepared than they were last year and this should stand to them in the last 10mins were they failed to capitalise last year....as a down man i can say we were fit enough but just havent got the players to defend at the top level....simple as that....

I'd agree that the Down backs are light vs. a physically strong side such as Donegal/Cork/Dublin.

I don't believe they are "match" unfit though.

Admittedly, the Mayo performance was absolutely scandalous for a beaten finalist from 2010 [even if Marty Clarke was particularly outstanding that year].

As a Down man , I have to admit that the Down backs in particular cough up space to opposing forwards so easily it is embarrassing . All our good teams marked tight and knew how to defend . Current team needs someone on board who knows how to defend , and some better players .  Not all down to the management , you cant get blood from a stone .

I put up a few doubts I had about the Donegal win against Kerry on the other thread, but have been looking for reasons not to back Cork as well.

I know people are saying that Cork can score from distance which will be important against this Donegal defence. But it is one thing to score when under little or no pressure - another to do it in a very tight, AI semi-final when gettting hunted down by 2-3 Donegal men.

Also, have Cork really been in a dogfight of late - Donegal have that's for sure.

Donegal won't be as open at the back as Kildare were - and the goals that Cork got against Kildare will be unlikely to be had on Sunday.

Also people say that if Donegal go down by 4-5 points early on, they will have to open up. But given their style, is it really likely that they will go behind by that early?

I think the game will be won in the 2nd half. I see the draw HT/Cork FT double result is 14/1. I will definitely be having a nibble at that as I see there being very little in it in the first half. Also, the under 28.5pts could be a good starting point, with a view to getting on the overs if it falls to 22.5 or 23.5 after a very tight opening 20 minutes - will wait for the weather forecast for that.

Cork are in a dogfight every second day with Frank, so well used to that
agree it should be low scoring, a few of Donegals games could have ended level so the draw is a big player, once Cork dont bolt.........

PODCAST of one hour  "SQUARE BALL" GAA Show on 93.1 FM CORK from Tuesday with a preview Of Cork v Donegal
Exclusive interviews with Conor Counihan and Graham Canty and also 1992 All Ireland Man of the Match Manus Boyle of donegal scored 9 points when they beat the Dubs in an epic 1992 Final !

Also Cork hurling Club Blackrock stave off relegation,their Manager is Ray deleany,he talks live.

Plus Brian Cody+_Declan ryan
Link is below
http://www.lifefm.ie/life/Content/On-Air/Tue%201800-1900.html

Dublin should be lively this weekend so lock up your daughters and some your wifes as the North west are in town :)

It will be an intriguing tactical battle from the word go. I can see Cork putting either Murphy or even Aidan Walsh at the edge of the square and pump the ball high inside. Counihan will have to change his sides style of play if they are to beat this Donegal machine. McGuinness the master mind will have something new up his sleeve!

As richters says; 'it will be a bitter battle to the end' but I expect Cork to come out on top by a couple of points. At the end of the day scores win matches and I just think Cork have more firepower than the Ulster champions, Walsh, Goold, Sheehan,  Kerrigan, O'Neill, O'Connor, Kelly, Goulding whereas Donegal rely heavily on one or two eg. Murphy and McFadden. They cant afford their duo to have an off day.

Should be a cracker.

Cork will destroy Donegal. Cork -1 is the bet of the year. Not only will the beat Donegal they will win the all Ireland. Donegal enjoy your day out in Dublin

see it as a trading match, cork will have purple patches and sleepy time

draw is a player, particularly as Donegal lost the plot against Kerry when they went 5 points up

Counihan saying all the right things:-

http://www.rte.ie/sport/gaa/football/2012/0823/334661-counihan-mistake-may-decide-semi-final/

Weather pivotal this Sunday.

so counihan is opting for paddy kelly!at centre half foward?that to me is a message to mcguinness.this kid is top class,left or right and very quick,hello mr lacy

I think at 12.5 or 13 on here the draw is grey value, should be able to green up late on

Great value

I'm with you willy

have punted Donegal & the draw with a view to trading

not ideal that I'll be in croker with the poor phone coverage

Cork have been heavily backed in the last few days and struggling to see why

I fancied Donegal strongly at the odds to beat Kerry. I thought that game was a very good match up for Donegal against a Kerry side with a lot of miles in their legs and without players to score from distance. Donegals improvement is based on a superb fitness abd physicality. However, they lack real pace and struggled a lot in ulster when a very poor Down and Tyrone teams exploited this weakness early in their games with them while they were fresh.

If conditions are good i will be backing Cork in todays game. If its a bad day i see that playing to Donegals advantage and wont be having a bet.

looking back over the last 4 years form...2009 cork beat in all ireland final by kerry after beating donegal rather easily in the quarter finals.....2010....cork win all ireland narrowly beating an average down team a game which down should have won....down had previously beat donegal aet in the prelims.donegal go out tamely to armagh in qualifiers....2011.....donegal are ulster champions under new management and run all ireland champions dublin close in semi final......cork beaten in all ireland qf by an average mayo team who later capitulated against kerry.......2012...donegal and cork both win provincial championships rather easily......to me donegal have played in tougher games and against better opposition..derry,tyrone,down,kerry......corks win agains kildare was impressive but we have to remember kildare were previously beaten by a poor meath team.....donegal were unlucky last year against dublin and are a far superior side to that this year where as i feel that the cork team which defeated down in 2010 is relatively the same......donegal have beaten cork in the league also in ballybofey this year 1-7 - 0-10.....to summarise i think donegal should have the mental and physical edge over cork and expect them topull away by 2 points in the last 10minutes......

Best bet here is under 29.5 pts in my opinion.Can't see more than one goal with the game getting more bogged down as the winning line is in sight.

Donegal 1-10 Cork 0-12.

Ref in that minor match was a disgrace.

The ref was awful but at least the better team won.........That Meath minor team was not fancied to do anything at the start of the year.....There u go.

Mayo played beautiful football in first half , looked home and hosed . Disappeared in the second half , did not score for 26 minute spell ( most of half ) . Draw would have been a fairer result as several Mayo players required attention off the field and I suspect it upset their rhythm .

Agree the ref was over officious , hardly a bad tackle and he was handing out yellows like confetti . Plus he missed a couple of calls favouring Meath .

I don't agree that the better team won..... I think thats stretching it a fair bit. Meath won with huge assistance from the Referee, and from a linesman who should never again be allowed run a line. The most blatant of pushes, I've ever seen right beside the linesman, and he saw nothing.
The hurling ref last sunday in the KilkennyvTipp game forget the rule book,the referee in the u21 game last night failed to give a free,probably a penalty to Galway early in the game when Galway were ahead, and this failure helped KK to stay in close touch and imho had a huge bearing on the result.
I am fearful for this Cork v Donegal game as this ref has been poor too often in the past. Time the GAA got their act together and got a few decent referee's properly trained, as there is too much at stake now.

Pen decision was crucial to the outcome and quite frankly suspicious. A truly awful call from the ref. I'm glad the Sunday Game crew went to town on him, hope his family are rightfully ashamed of him.

Ah,maybe thats a bit strong pre-fat, its just the GAA Hierarchy that need to wake up. They just need to train up a few refs to a proper standard, even if they are professional full-time at the reffing for the summer,so be it..........

Who is this ref a lot of easy frees to Donegal.

Yeah Arkle,i don,t trust him an inch,Cork having the play and not a lot to show for it.

Cork are gone

Donegal just different class here.  Fitness coming to the fore in the 2nd half.

I am from Cork but will not go to a football game for the very reason you are looking at live on TV. Infuriating watching them and Counihan getting exposed for the moderate tactician he is.

Not to take from Donegal however who are playing superbly and deserving winners

Lust I agree Donegal are deserving winners but Cork are playing absolute Sh...

not over yet

Great performance from Donegal, they'll take a lot of stopping in the final

Desperate for the blood pressure and know what you mean lustrumm they would put anyone in bad form at times,too many wides 1st half,shocking 2nd half just never picked up their game.WD Donegal

Donegal are a fantastic team imo

Cork Humiliated. . .Northern football at it's best

Haha Spillane you K8&t back off with too Kerry.

Brolly is always right these days.

BOOOOOOOOM

Cork outplayed most positions on the field .  Score does not reflect Donegal superiority .

As a spectacle, the game of GAA football is fkuced. Putrid stuff indeed.

why the gotchee im just listening to colm o rourke tell us what an entertaining game this was.....

tactically cork had no idea and walked right into it.so donegal have beaten tyrone,kerry and cork,they have to be red hot favs for the allireland now,they are unbeatable

Counihan wrote his own resingation speech in his interview just there. When are people going to realise the game has changed.

His own quote  "with 10 minutes to go I told them to calm down" 
Is that all he could come up with looking at his team running around aimlessly?

I'll be honest I was never a fan of his and begrudgingly acknowledged his ability to get the team fit but as a Manager he is desperate.

If you cant think on your feet in Croke Park you can forget about winning a tight game.

At least Cork did not let down the Holy Trinity of Gambling for all Irish people

Kingrat it is quite possible that those 3 teams as now constituted are history.

u have my sympathies lust,cheerio! cheerio! cheerio!

Aug 23, 2012 -- 3:12PM, The Gotchee wrote:

Cork will destroy Donegal. Cork -1 is the bet of the year. Not only will the beat Donegal they will win the all Ireland. Donegal enjoy your day out in Dublin

OOPS

Looking forward to seeing Donegal bringing the fav.,to Croker v Dublin, if its Mayo suir they can play it any Friday night in Sligo,or Tuam
Ref was ok and surprised me, should get the final after that

Well I'd rather Cork lose to Donegal than Dublin in the final so not all bad

Last year Donegal were turgid and grinded their way to a semi final, the system is much the same only this year they play with a lot more flair and attacking intent, their 2nd half display was reminiscent of Tyrone at their peak without the forwards stars that Tyrone possessed, attacked with numbers that Cork simply couldn't cope with.
Unless either Dublin or Mayo produce something out of this world next week its hard to picture anything other than a Donegal All Ireland victory, if Dublin win the bookies might offer very tempting odds on Donegal?.

donegal will start favs regardless of the semi-final result

I'm sure they will cup, but they won't be prohibitive odds as the bookies are inclined to overrate the dubs.

ah lust,typical attitude of a cork manpathetic!i honestly taught counihan would direct his players to hang back,conserve energy,shoot on sight from 40 yards and probe into the full foward line when the opportunity arises.but you have to hand it to jim macguinness ,a gentleman,has an absolute passion for the game and its obvious to me his players would go through a wall for him,i think he deserves this.

I backed Cork but i have to say that performance by Donegal was the best i have seen since Tyrone beat Kerry in the semi final 10 years ago. Cork were forced into going sideways and backwards the same way Kerry were 10 years ago.
I cant see Donegal winning multiple all irelands with this style of play as its hard to see them having the same motivation if they win one as its a style based on an immense work ethic and collective spirit rather than individual brilliance.
I think they will win whoever they meet in the final this year. I doubt there has ever been a gaelic team in such physical condition as this Donegal side. In terms of fitness and phsyical conditioning it was like watching a professional team of athletes against an amateur team today.

4/6 Donegal
2/1 The Dubs
6/1 Mayo bits of 7s
Have Donegal ever been favs for Sam before ?
I Fancy Dubs for back to back All-Irelands
Cork were very poor,a few heads dropped early,
In fairness G Canty and Nick Murphy have given great service but past it now,forwards in general were poor.........

whats the odds on daniel o donnell singing the national anthem?or who knowns ,for a tenner he might be persuaded to wear a blue jersey and sing "the  boys are  back in town " in front of hill 16

Tony Davis having an absolute seeth on TSG

He is hurting.

great win for donegal!!
think i saw steam coming from t davis's ears too
kearney selection of motm was off though..
surely lacey was motm?

in fairness so r u the gotchee....

anyone know what price Donegal were pre season?

they were still 13/2 before they played kerry.....i think they were 12s at start of year

20 - 25s on here for ages. 14/1 before ulster final

I am not proud of myself for deserting them KingRat and it only came after 30 years of heartbreak. I used to go to League games and everything and was a moderately successful footballer in my day so football is my primary game.

It is one thing to lose to Kerry every year and be brought up on a diet of it (particularly hard for me being from North Cork) but to lose almost every time there is expectation of winning became too much (I guess not unlike how the Mayo fans feel)

I know what it is from and that is from being brought up on a lifetime of success from the hurlers. Comparatively speaking with 90% of other footballing Counties Cork footballers have been wildly successful but I accept it is a failing on my part.

There have been 2 periods of my life when the Cork Footballers were on top of Kerry, the late 80s and mid to late 90's. Even then when Cork won their 3 recent All Irelands they found ways to lose to Kerry and to a lesser degree Dublin.

I'll stick with the hurlers who by and large perform as expected. I don't think I have been to a football match since Tompkins retired (as a player that is)where I knew for certain how Cork would play. I stopped going to Football matches in 2003 and have not regretted it since (not even after the lucky win against Down 2 years ago

Just read Jackos assessment in Sunday Times of the outcome of this match today ( with the benefit of hindsight ) .  Normally I respect Jackos opinion , but nearly every point he made about the match was turned on its head .

Seriously overestimated the prowess of the Cork team , maybe because they beat Kerry , attributing powers to some of their players I was unaware of . The Down team they beat in 2010 was very average  , and some people on here called it a lucky victory .

Donegal have upped their game since last year when they would have bored you to death , not sure what they have done , but it works in football terms , and they have been good to watch . Think it could be a cracking final , no matter who provide the opposition .