When Declan Bonner addressed his troops at half-time in Clones, he knew they needed to find an extra gear in order to see off the challenge of a stubborn Cavan outfit.
Tied at 0-9 each, the sides had served up the best 35 minutes of football of the entire Championship. However, Paddy McBrearty claims Donegal enjoyed a fair slice of good fortune when at came to the landing the two goals that eventually confirmed Cavan’s downfall.
Both came from high balls in and the first broke kindly for substitute Conor O’Donnell, who side-footed the ball past Raymond Galligan.
Read more: Cavan players will commit to Tailteann Cup insists Breffni boss Mickey Graham
McBrearty then sealed Donegal’s place in the Ulster final with a superb finish, but only after the ball had slipped through the fingertips of Cavan defender Killian Clarke.
“Things didn’t go great and we weren’t happy with how we attacked the first half,” said McBrearty.
“We’d too many turnovers and things breaking down. . . we had to make sure of the final pass.
“We did that better in the second half and we chipped away at the scoreboard. We got two lucky goals and that was the winning of the game really.”
McBrearty finished the game with 1-4 to his credit with 1-1 from play and also left Clones with a cut under his chin following a heavy tackle in the first half.
“I don’t think it was intentional,” he added.
“I ducked, maybe more than anything. That happens, but I’d say I will be sore tomorrow."
“They (Cavan) are a quality team. I know they were in Division Four this year, but they are not a Division Four team - far from it.
“We knew we had to be on our game and we weren’t in the first half. They were the better team in the first half.
“We got things right at half-time and we got on top, but they are a quality outfit.”
Donegal know better than most teams how Cavan can raise their game for a Championship battle.
After beating the Breffnimen in the Ulster Final of 2019 to retain the Anglo Celt Cup, Bonner’s men were surprisingly beaten by Mickey Graham’s men in the winter Ulster decider of 2020 at the Athletic Grounds.
McBrearty said that game was on the minds of the Donegal players ahead of Sunday’s rematch at St Tiernach’s Park.
“No doubt - that was a tough, tough evening,” reflected the Kilcar attacker.
“We were going for three in a row, but Cavan deserved to beat us that day. We didn’t play to our potential.
“So we wanted to put that right and this was our first time in Clones since 2019, so it was good to get back here as well.
“To win any Ulster Championship game you are looking at that 20-point mark. We hit it.
“I don’t think we hit it two weeks ago against Armagh, but you are going to have to hit it against whoever comes out of Derry and Monaghan.”
Read more: Classy Canavan steers Tyrone to All-Ireland semi-final victory over Kerry
Read more: Cavan vs Donegal: Score recap as Tír Chonaill men book their place in Ulster SFC final
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