THERE can be no excuses or mitigating factors – on Sunday, the Donegal senior footballers simply have to take the opportunity in front of them and reach the All-Ireland Final.

Jim McGuinness said that Donegal weren’t ready to reach the showpiece event last year after they lost to Galway.

It was a chance that slipped by and Donegal can’t afford to allow that to happen again.

The panel is stronger now and more battle-hardened and they are a year down the tracks.

So for all the refereeing calls that may go against them, or the impact the searing heat may bring, or the physical challenge that Meath are likely to present, Donegal have to find the answers on Sunday.

Of course, there is no God given right to succeed. McGuinness’s men were stung last year by a reasonably limited Cork side on a day that they didn’t perform.

Donegal are not invincible by any stretch and while Meath travel to Headquarters as underdogs, they will fancy their chances of causing yet another upset.

However, a pathway has opened up that few Donegal folk could have envisaged at the start of the year.

It’s been said all season that it’s one of the most open championships in living memory, and yet there weren’t many pundits tipping Meath to make a major impact.

When three senior players approached McGuinness in Creeslough two years ago and asked him to take on the team, it was about raising standards once again and helping the side fulfil their potential.

They sensed there was a window there in which they could compete with the elite teams and that vision has proven correct.

However, they will only get so many chances to create their own history.

Of the twenty players that featured against Monaghan in the quarter-finals, seven are now in their thirties, and another handful are in their late twenties.

This is their prime years and with an infusion of youth, Donegal appear to have the right cocktail of vigour and know-how.

It’s been a testing championship from the Ulster Preliminary Round to Sunday#s semi-final but Donegal are still standing.

Sunday’s encounter is the tenth championship match of the season.

There have been obstacles along the way but Donegal have found themselves to be durable.

With Caolan McGonagle approaching a return to fitness, McGuinness is close to picking from a full deck for the first time during his second stint.

Meath do have a strong body of work behind them this season as well.

Their win over Dublin in the Leinster semi-final was huge. They were aggressive in that game and didn’t buckle when the pressure came on.

They defied their odds again to top their All-Ireland group with wins over Cork and Kerry, and a draw against Roscommon.

It’s no exaggeration to say it was felt in some quarters that they may have finished bottom of that group.

There is an argument that Dublin and Kerry weren’t fully tuned in for their matches and both teams were down key players, but Galway certainly weren’t holding back in the quarter-final.

Meath were much the better team in the second half and were able to see the game out when the pressure was on.

They have shown that they can rub shoulders with the best and they aren’t going anywhere any time soon.

Meath won the All-Ireland Minor title four years ago and none of the players from that team are expected to play this weekend.

They had a lively minor side this year as well that cracked six goals past Donegal.

And it must be remembered that four of their players – Ronan Jones, James Conlon, Jack Kinlough, and Jack Flynn – are all out injured but would likely have seen game time if fit.

The ingredients are there to be a real force going forward.

The Leinster Final defeat to Louth is the one blemish on their copybook this term. They didn’t perform and considering the wee county’s dismal showing in the All-Ireland Series, one wonders how they came up short in that game.

They didn’t allow that defeat to derail their campaign, and in Robbie Brennan, they have a manager of real substance who enjoyed fine success with Kilmacud Crokes.

Colm O’Rourke was brave enough to step away from the comfy RTÉ armchair but his Meath side lacked bite and flair.

Those key components have been back in vogue this season and their players are clearly free to express themselves.

But the fact remains, that they finished bottom in their All-Ireland Series group last year, and didn’t win promotion from a fairly average Division 2.

Donegal will identify players they need to stop, and will be wary of two-pointers which the Royals courageously chase.

However, the Ulster champions will feel they can put up scores at the other end of the field and will have the subs to come in and bolster their cause.

Donegal tick so many of the boxes but they know they need to bring a performance to Croke Park.

They have to be clinical and take a grip of the semi-final clash, and let their superior quality come to the fore.

Opportunities to play inexperienced Division 2 sides in a big semi-final don’t come around too often.

Donegal have been dealt a kind draw and opportunity knocks – now they have to grasp their moment.