Langan hopes Donegal have learned from Kerry All-Ireland Final lesson
Michael Langan of Donegal after his side's defeat in the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship final match between Kerry and Donegal at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile.
Click here to listen to the interview with Donegal's Michael Langan.
By John Harrington
Sunday’s Allianz Football League Final against Kerry provides Donegal with an opportunity to prove they’ve learned some lessons from last year’s All-Ireland defeat to the same opposition.
You could argue they’ve already done that by beating Kerry in Round Two of the League, but a national final in Croke Park is a much more significant litmus test.
Kerry will field a stronger team than they did on February 1st, have mined a rich vein of form in recent weeks, know every blade of grass in Croke Park, and will be very determined to double the dose of victory over Jim McGuinness’ team in a national final.
The Kingdom blew Donegal away in the first quarter of last year’s All-Ireland Final with their physical intensity and clinical finishing as they scorched into a 0-13 to 0-4 lead by the 18th minute.
Donegal were chasing the game thereafter and, though they tried manfully, they left themselves too much to do.
There’s no painless way to lose an All-Ireland Final, but the sense that they simply didn’t do themselves justice must have made the postmortem in the Donegal camp all the tougher.
“Yeah, look, it's obviously not a nice experience losing an All-Ireland final,” admits team joint-captain, Michael Langan.
“I think Kerry probably benefited from being in a couple of finals before that. They played the occasion very well. But, yeah, obviously very disappointed to lose.
“Kerry got off to a great start. They brought a serious intensity and aggression and we probably left ourselves with too much to do, too much of a lead to claw back.
“We made a fist of it there in the second half, I think, but as I say, we probably just left ourselves with too much to do and Kerry kind of kept us at arm's length.
"And any time we got back close, maybe three or four points, we missed a couple of opportunities, a couple of wides, a couple of turnovers and Kerry were able to tag on points and obviously see it out.
“So yeah, look, it's obviously a tough experience, but we just have to try and take the learnings from it and move forward.
“I mean, we did make a go of it in the second half and we felt we had a bit of momentum. I think we got it back to maybe four points at a stage, but we couldn't just get that reduced.
“We probably needed a bigger score, maybe a two-pointer or a goal or something just to just claw back a wee bit closer. And ultimately, we didn't do that.”
Michael Langan of Donegal in action against Eoin Kennedy of Dublin during the Allianz Football League Division 1 match between Dublin and Donegal at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Michael P Ryan/Sportsfile.
Donegal failed to score a single two-pointer in last year’s All-Ireland Final whereas Kerry scored five, which had a very significant bearing on the outcome of the game.
It’s an issue they’ve addressed with some degree of success in their League campaign to date.
They’ve kicked 21 two-pointers for an average of three per game, and Langan has been their biggest threat from outside the arc, kicking seven of them.
“It's the second year of the rules and you're getting a bit more used to them,” says Langan.
“Obviously, the two-pointers have been massive as well. I suppose we learned that in the final.
“Kerry probably got more two-pointers than we did. It's something we are looking at. I mean, if the shots on for a two-pointer, we're not afraid to take it, but it's probably about not snatching at opportunities as well.
“I suppose the thing we've added maybe this year is to try and get a couple more shots for two-pointers after training, whereas before you might have been taken in a bit closer or you're working out moves that might have worked in previous games to open up a bit of space around the two-pointer arc to try and take those opportunities.
“I've always enjoyed kicking points. It's something I used to do when I was only no age down at the club pitch kicking points, so it's something I'm comfortable doing, but it probably has to be in the right area of the pitch as well.
“You don't want to be shooting from maybe each side of the 'D' because the chances of it actually going over is probably a wee bit less.
“But yeah, look, I'm confident that the chances are raised and I'm confident to try and have a go.”
Michael Langan of Donegal and Mark O'Shea of Kerry contest the throw-in at the start of the first half during the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship final match between Kerry and Donegal at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile.
Langan’s high-fielding ability is also a huge weapon for Donegal with the battle for possession in the middle third from kick-outs now so crucial to the outcome of matches.
"Yeah, the kick-outs are a massive part of the game now, both for and against,” he says.
“If you're able to get them away and get hands on ball, you have a good chance of getting scores at the other end when you're attacking 11 v 11. But it's a huge dogfight out there when it goes long and trying to get hands on ball is not easy out there.
“I suppose when you're on top and you have a team heading down, it's enjoyable, but when your momentum's kind of against you and you need hands on ball and you've maybe conceded a couple of points and need to get a score down the other end, it's not as easy.
“The game's kind of played more traditional now and the ball's kicked out a lot more than it would have been in previous years. So yeah, it's definitely a battle out there and whoever can get hands on ball gives themselves a good platform to go on and get scores and win the game.”
Donegal have only won the National League Division 1 title once previously, and that was back in 2007.
The big prize is the Sam Maguire Cup, but Langan makes no bones about the fact that winning on Sunday would be a very satisfying day’s work.
“Definitely,” he says. “It's a game we're going up there and we want to win. The aim at the start of the league was probably to get safe in the league and anything after that was a bonus.
“So, look, we're in the final now, we're going up there to win it. We'll get whatever bodies we can on the pitch and whoever's ready to go for that game will go up there with the intention to win it. If we win it, unreal, great.
“And if we don't, we'll take the learnings. We have a huge game in the championship against Down in a couple of weeks' time and we'll move on to that with the learnings.
“Donegal have only won it once and not since 2007, so to add another national league title in Croke Park would be great and we'll go down there with the intentions to win.”
