IT’S been eleven years since Donegal reached the All-Ireland Final, and there is huge hope in the county that this is the year that we get back to the decider.

There have been ups and downs over the intervening years. We’ve had some great victories and a few disappointing results.

Donegal weren’t far off reaching the final last year. It was a level game heading down the home straight against Galway when Ciaran Thompson slipped and touched the ball on the ground.

Rob Finnerty got a handy point and Galway added another in a tense finale. There wasn’t much in it.

I know the players were very disappointed after that defeat, especially when Armagh went on to win the All-Ireland.

The Orchard county took their chance, and I think Donegal will have a really sharp focus this week to make sure they get through to the final.

The team headed away last weekend and they will have gone through Meath in great detail.

Donegal have a very strong management team led by Jim and they’ll have been doing everything in their power to help the team get over the line.

I’m sure if you had offered Robbie Brennan and Meath a run to the semi-final at the start of the year, they would have been absolutely thrilled with that.

But now that they are here, they’ll be thinking they can reach the final. After all, they have beaten Dublin and Kerry, so why should Donegal fear them?

They are a good young vibrant team. Ruairi Kinsella has looked the part at centre half-forward and in Jordan Morris and Matthew Costello they have two players who are performing very well.

Donegal will also have to be wary of two-pointers especially if the weather conditions are going to be good as predicted.

They may have to alter their defensive line as you can’t afford to allow Meath to be getting shots away outside the arc under no pressure.

The Meath defence have been giving up goals this year and conceded three against Louth in the Leinster Final.

Donegal haven’t been scoring a huge amount of goals themselves but I think they will create opportunities this week and hopefully they are ruthless in front of the posts.

However, the real battleground for me will be in midfield.

In all of Meath’s big wins this year they have dominated the aerial exchanges.

However, in the Leinster Final against Louth, they didn’t win one single breaking ball in the second half of that match.

So for me, Donegal have to be really forceful on the kick-outs and ravenous when the ball hits the ground.

Conor Gray is a big man for Meath and he will make an impact when he comes on but Donegal have plenty of size and presence.

You have Michael Murphy, Michael Langan, Ciaran Thompson, Jason McGee, and Hugh McFadden and Caolan McGonagle is back in training as well.

It might be too soon for big Caolan to start but hopefully he can make an impact if called upon. Caolan is a warrior and the type of man you’ll need in a tough tie like this.

Donegal’s kick-outs are going to be vital and it will be a memorable day for Shaun Patton as he makes his 100th appearance for the county team.

I remember the early days when we got Shaun persuaded to try out for the team in late 2017 and from very early on, you could see that he had an x-factor.

He could have earned plenty of money in the League of Ireland, but committed to Donegal and he has been a wonderful servant. Hopefully all goes well for Shaun this weekend.

It’s going to be a great atmosphere on Sunday with over 70,000 people in attendance and I just hope all those who want to go, can make it.

It makes no sense to me whatsoever that Ticketmaster are selling tickets for the semi-finals before orders from clubs are dealt with.

It looks like it will be very warm and the full panel will be needed for Donegal. We will need that impact from the bench.

I think when you look at both squads, Donegal just have that extra bit of quality.

Meath are at the early stage of their journey where Jim and the boys are just further down the tracks.

Donegal will need a strong performance but if they get that, I think they will prevail in this match, and hopefully by Monday morning we will find ourselves in the middle of a ticket scramble.

Semi

Could we have a North West All-Ireland Final?

It’s certainly a possibility and it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if Tyrone sees off Kerry. However, I don’t think it is going to happen.

Tyrone have struggled for consistency all season. They haven’t really been able to put back-to-back performances together.

Malachy O’Rourke’s men had a good win over Dublin but they made some sloppy mistakes during that match. They won’t get away with that against Kerry.

They will also need Darragh Canavan to catch fire. It hasn’t happened for him so far in the championship but perhaps Saturday is the day he will really hit top form.

Darren McCurry is another man who will need a good day, while in Eoin McElholm and Ruairi Canavan, Tyrone have subs who could come on and make a difference late in the match.

However, I think they could be under pressure in the backline where Michael McKernan is going to be a huge loss.

Kerry dominated Armagh’s kick-out for 15 minutes and killed off the contest during that period.

I don’t think Tyrone will let that happen. They’ll find a way to slow things down if they are under pressure.

And in Conn Kilpatrick and Brian Kennedy, they have a midfield that should be able to compete.

But the question for me is will they be able to stop David Clifford, Seanie O’Shea, and Paudie Clifford? I’m not sure they will be fit for it.

Tyrone teams don’t fear Kerry and we saw that as their minors defeated the Kingdom in the All-Ireland Final last week.

However, Kerry just hold too many aces in my opinion and I think they will win a high-scoring contest.

Na Rossa

While intercounty players in the prime of their lives will take to the field this weekend, spare a thought for those not quite in their prime who will take part in the NorthWest 100 Cycling Challenge on Saturday.

It’s being run by my own club Na Rossa, as we try to gather the funds to build a clubhouse at Madavagh.

We will set off from Lettermacaward Chapel at 9:30am before taking on a 100km route around the Rosses and Gaoth Dobhair before finishing up at McCafferty’s Bar.

Over ninety cyclists have signed up already and it should be a great day’s craic.

And it’s for a good cause as it will help provide a real focal point for our local community.

There might be some sore bodies on Sunday but as our 50th anniversary approaches next year, we would love to have our clubhouse complete and in operation.

If you would like to donate to support our fundraiser, please go to narossa.fundmajor.