DONEGAL star Shane O’Donnell admits that his team would rather have avoided the Preliminary Quarter-Finals but that’s where they find themselves and there is no room for error as the team prepares to face Louth.
Donegal were aiming to top their group and go straight through to the last eight, just as they had done last year.
However, that never looked likely after losing to Tyrone in the group opener.
O’Donnell and his teammates did finish second in their group, and while there is another game now added to what has already been a hectic calendar, there is a real opportunity to progress to Croke Park next week.
“We’re feeling good about it,” said O’Donnell, after he attended the launch of the All-Ireland Series at Headquarters.
“It’s probably not the place we wanted to be but it is where we are now.
“It’s knock-out football from now on so we have to get ready for that.
“Louth are the Leinster champions and we know that they are a very good team so it’s just about trying to prepare as best as we can now before Sunday’s game.”
O’Donnell is enjoying a super championship campaign and is an integral part of the Donegal machine, where his running power is hugely difficult to curtail.
He scored a point against Mayo last week and also could have had a goal after he left their defence for dead only to be denied by a Colm Reape save.
When O’Donnell left the field late on to be replaced by Eoin McHugh, his team were in a strong position.
However, a late flurry from Mayo looked to have secured them a draw.
O’Donnell says the players on the field were not aware of what was happening in the Tyrone v Cavan match.
So when Ciaran Moore picked the ball up with seconds remaining, he was still working off the basis that Donegal needed to win, even though a draw was enough to secure second in the group at that stage.
O’Donnell said: “I wasn’t aware (of the score in the Tyrone match) until I actually came off near the end.
“The boys were telling me then but I didn’t know before that and I don’t think anyone on the pitch knew. They couldn’t take it for granted and just had to keep going.
“A lot of us were shouting at him (Moore) to put the ball out but he didn’t hear us which worked out well in the end.
“I know we would have finished second anyway with a draw but it was good to get the win.
“The boys kept going and it’s good for team morale to be winning games.
“Mayo are a great side and it’s always tough going down to play them so it was a very good result for us.”
Donegal defeated Louth by 1-23 to 0-18 last season in the quarter-finals but one factor in that win was that Donegal had two weeks to prepare while Louth had only seven days after winning their Preliminary Quarter-Final against Cork.
This time both teams only have a week to get ready and O’Donnell says there isn’t much time for anything in between other than recovery.
“It definitely is difficult.
“It’s hard to get stuff done in the space of a week.
“We will try and do as much as we can but in terms of analysis and everything, you’re short on time.
“It’s tough on the bodies as well of course but to be fair Louth are in the same boat so we can’t complain too much.
“We came up short against Tyrone so we only have ourselves to blame that we have this game and we have to get on with it.”
Louth lost by 1-23 to 4-8 in their group opener against Monaghan and then were defeated by Down on a scoreline of 0-25 to 0-24 despite a spirited fightback.
That meant they were playing knock-out football from last week but came through their first test against Clare by 2-17 to 2-14.
O’Donnell and Donegal have seen plenty of Louth over the last 16 months and they know they will be asked questions.
“They have good players all over the pitch. They are a tough team.
“We played them in Ballyshannon in the league last year and we just about got over the line with a fluky enough goal.
“We played them then in the quarter-final in Croke Park and we just about saw them off again. It was a bit of a shoot-out that day.
“It’s going to be tough. They will be coming in with a lot of confidence based on the fact that they are Leinster champions.”
Jim McGuinness’s proud unbeaten record in league and championship games at MacCumhaill Park fell against Tyrone last month.
O’Donnell says the team will be keen to put in a better display at the Ballybofey venue this time around.
“We’re very happy to have the game at home.
“It’s not too often that you get to play big championship games at home.
“We’re hoping that our supporters will come out in big numbers as they always do.
“We want to rectify things after the Tyrone game when we came up short.”
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