RYAN FERRY looks back at Donegal’s win over Monaghan as four teams are left standing in the All-Ireland SFC.

1. Donegal bring variety in attack

Donegal may have scored six more points against Cavan than they did last Saturday but there’s a strong argument that they produced their best attacking display so far in the win over Monaghan.

They only had four wides over the course of the seventy minutes and a couple of those were uncharacteristic misses from Michael Murphy and Finnbarr Roarty.

Granted, Monaghan haven’t been overly impressive in defence this year, but Donegal were still able to move them around at will, and there was variety to their play.

Oisin Gallen’s first point came from a nice pass inside, and Murphy also collected a kicked assist from Michael Langan before the big St Michael’s man rifled high to the net.

Then you had the hard running from the likes of Conor O’Donnell and Shane O’Donnell, who had joy throughout the game when they ran at their opponents, while Gallen was dangerous on the loop.

Added to that was the two-point threat with Ciaran Thompson scoring two from outside the arc, and he was lining up another in the first half but slipped at the crucial moment.

Donegal may primarily run the ball but there are always different players threatening in attack and that provides an unpredictability that other sides will struggle with.

2. Kick-out issues will need to be addressed

Monaghan had as much joy in cracking Shaun Patton’s kick-outs as any team in recent years.

They pushed forward with three banks of four and cut out the space for Patton.

The first half malfunction wasn’t all down to the goalkeeper, and Shane O’Donnell and Finnbarr Roarty were a bit slow to react to his restart for the Monaghan goal.

Three kick-outs were sent in the direction of Ciaran Moore and Donegal didn’t retain any of them.

In fairness to Moore, he probably gave more movement than any other player, and the stagnation of his teammates was perhaps a bigger issue.

Donegal did do reasonably well when they went long to Michael Murphy, and Patton was able to pick off Monaghan in the second half as they tired.

Of course he wasn’t the only goalkeeper to have issues at the weekend with Armagh’s Ethan Rafferty struggling to find his teammates and teams can really find themselves under the pump for 10 or 15 minute periods.

Patton and his goalkeeping coach, James Gallagher will look at it and they will aim to improve ahead of the clash with Meath, who are formidable themselves in the middle of the field.

3. Strong Conditioning stands to Donegal

Caolan McColgan of Donegal skips by Gary Mohan.

There was much debate in the lead-up to the quarter-final over Donegal’s six-day turnaround and how they might struggle as a result.

It would have been fair if they were granted an extra day but that wasn’t the case.

There were signs in the first half that Donegal weren’t quite operating at their usual level. They didn’t kick many wides but were guilty of some cheap turnovers when not under a great deal of pressure.

Perhaps it was just bad luck, but Monaghan were able to score five points as they retrieved possession following Donegal blocks/interception in their own defence. It just seemed that Jim McGuinness’s men were that half-yard off it and they looked flat heading in at half-time as well.

However, they were rejuvenated in the second half when they were able to make a strong start.

Monaghan dropped their levels but Donegal were able to keep powering through with the likes of Shane O’Donnell, Roarty and Peadar Mogan still going strong at the end of the match.

It has been mooted that perhaps Donegal went hard at the season too early with a warm training camp in December and a real focus on the Ulster Championship.

However, they have now come through a challenging three games in 13 days and with two weeks to rest and recover, they’ll back their conditioning levels heading into the final stretch against anyone left in the competition.

4. Bench gives real energy

Jim McGuinness’s first stint in charge was renowned for the impact he got off the bench and it appears that Donegal are nearing that level once again.

Patrick McBrearty had his best game since the Ulster Preliminary Round clash with Derry while Daire Ó Baoill brought pace and zest to the game.

Eoin McHugh added fresh legs while Niall O’Donnell got a few minutes but perhaps the big success story was Jason McGee who was strong in the air and moved nicely across the pitch.

Caolan McColgan was perhaps a bit unfortunate to be taken off in the 39th minute after he had just set up a point.

And it was a surprise that Oisin Gallen was replaced when he already had three points from play to his name.

However, if you want to bring impact off the bench then someone has to be replaced.

And when you consider Jamie Brennan, Aaron Doherty, Odhran McFadden-Ferry and Stephen McMenamin were all held in reserve, it shows the options that are available, even if the manager appears to have narrowed his thinking somewhat.

It appeared that everyone came through the game unscathed and with Caolan McGonagle nearing a return, there is the possibility that McGuinness will be able to name a full-strength panel in two weeks for the first time since he returned to the helm.

5. Semi-final draw is kind

Meath are not a team to be underestimated and they have been the story of the summer so far.

However, there’s no doubt that both Tyrone and Donegal were hoping to face the Royal county when the draw was taking place.

Meath have claimed great wins over Dublin, Cork, Kerry, and Galway this season and are a young side growing in confidence.

However, their rise has been sudden, and they are not as seasoned or developed as Donegal, Kerry, or Tyrone.

That’s not to say they don’t stand a good chance heading into the semi-final.

They will take heart from last week’s matches and they have a seriously good manager in Robbie Brennan.

Donegal had a tough route to Ulster glory and a challenging group in the All-Ireland series so maybe they are deserving of a kind draw.

And if two weeks ago they had been offered games against Monaghan and Meath to reach the All-Ireland Final, they would have gladly accepted it.

That’s the hand they have been dealt and they have to make the most of it now.