BY MATTHEW WILSON
DONEGAL’s Peadar Mogan was pleased to have gotten their Division 1 campaign off to winning ways and is expecting a real test when Kerry come to town this weekend.
Donegal made the trip to Croke Park last Saturday night for a meeting with Dublin in their opening league encounter, coming away with the two points courtesy of a three-point victory which Mogan was pleased about.
“It’s nice to just come in, get started and get two points on the board. Any day that you come up here (Croke Park) is nice and it’s nice to leave here with a victory as well, it always helps.”
Jim McGuinness’s side played excellently against the wind in Act One of last Saturday’s encounter and a fruitful spell at the end of the half saw them take a six-point cushion into the interval.
However, Ger Brennan’s outfit threatened Donegal after the restart, kicking 14 points into the Hill 16 end of Croke Park.
The reigning Ulster champions stood firm though and a couple of two-pointers helped them to hold on and secure a three-point win in the capital.
“We were delighted. We came in at half-time against the breeze and thought the last 15 or 20 minutes we managed the game well. We got the goal as well and that kind of helped.
“At the start of the second half, as you’d expect from any Dublin team at home, they came out and they absolutely played with an intensity that we kind of struggled to match at the start.
“I think with the beauty of the two-pointers and stuff, we were able to keep that bit of breathing room but it didn’t actually feel like that. The manner of the last ten minutes then was about trying to see out the game so we were lucky enough in that way but it’s good to leave here with a win and two points on the board.”
Last weekend’s contest saw Donegal return to GAA Headquarters for the first time since their All-Ireland Final defeat to Kerry last July.
That was a tough loss for the entire squad and they will have been delighted to have taken to the field and come away with the win on their first return to Croke Park.
Speaking post-match, Mogan expressed that it wasn’t a topic that they had discussed much in the lead up but stated that it was nice to come away with a good memory again as well as getting new players exposure to the hallowed turf.
“That’s it, yeah. It wasn’t something that we spoke about too much but I suppose in the back of your mind you’re always looking to come in here and come away with a good memory again.
“As I said, it was a very depressing time when we left here a couple of months ago so it’s just nice to come in and get the feel of it again. It’s nice to get some new lads exposure to it. The young lads that came on did very well and I suppose it’s brilliant.”
Last Saturday’s Division 1 encounter was a memorable one for the St Naul’s clubman, captaining the Donegal side for the meeting with the Dubs.
Since Patrick McBrearty’s retirement at the end of 2025, the captaincy has been given to numerous players in the form of Hugh McFadden, Michael Langan, Caolan McGonagle and now Peadar Mogan.
The Mountcharles man stated that it was an honour for him to have led the team out at GAA HQ while also paying tribute to teammate Caolan McGonagle who made his 100th appearance for the county.
“Absolutely, it’s an honour for myself, my family and my club. It was lovely just to get the nod and also a special mention to Caolan McGonagle too, he made his 100th appearance tonight.
“He’s an incredible servant to Donegal, it’s been a pretty good couple of weeks for him to be fair and he owes nothing to Donegal. For what he’s given, he’s been a bit of an unsung hero over the years so I’m delighted for him as well to make his 100th appearance.”
The reigning Ulster champions will be delighted to have gotten their league campaign off to winning ways and get two points on the board but their attention will turn quickly towards this weekend when Kerry come to town.
Jim McGuinness’s outfit will meet the Kingdom at Father Tierney Park in Ballyshannon on Sunday in a repeat of last term’s All-Ireland Football Final.
Mogan expressed that it’s another brilliant test that they’re faced with and stated that these Division 1 encounters are the games you want in order to get prepared for championship football later down the line.
“100 percent, again that’s Division 1 The All-Ireland champions are coming now to Donegal so it’s going to be a brilliant test. It’s brilliant for us, a brilliant start to the league and brilliant games to get because that’s serious intensity and that’s what you want to get at in preparation for the Championship coming down the line.”
