Alan Brogan: My memory of this infamous semifinal in 2011 is what Donegal did just after the throw-in

There is a natural fascination / distrust about Donegal in Dublin, probably due to the two semi-finals from all over Ireland, we played against them in 2011 and 2014, which does not remind me of any of these days.

My memory of the infamous match of 2011 was the throw-in, standing in the center and forward to go from front

Then, the balloon is launched in the air by Maurice Deegan and I watch him fall, I see Mark McHugh, Christy Toye, and Frank McGlynn in my peripheral vision, all of whom step forward from Donegal's half-front line in their defense, completely ignoring the ball.

It was a statement of Donegal. There would be no pretense. They were there to defend, coerce and frustrate. And, for the most part, they did all those things.

It was a weird and strange day

The atmosphere in the ground was strange and it was dark and overcast too, adding to the strange atmosphere of Croke Park. 19659004] No one could really believe how Donegal was going about his business that day.

Naturally, we had practiced something similar to what they were trying, doing logical things like 15 to 18 to the workout. We saw how defensive they were, that we fully appreciated the total commitment that they had to try to lead us to and beyond the point of distraction.

We had a plan, of course, but never really worked in the first period

We thought we could find small pockets of space in the line of half, press the evictions and then do some damage from there.

We also wanted to kick a long, fast ball into our line before they had a chance to reset their defense, but they played Donegal, hey t never advanced enough of their own & 65 to need to reset in the first place.

So we launched a long distance on a rainy day, adding to the frustration of our supporters and giving all the Donegal of Croke Park

Nowadays, people talk about putting pressure on the defenders of the # Opposition and occupy their sweepers as if it was a tactical revelation, the newly discovered missing link in the relentless pursuit of open mbad defenses

.

Donegal had only Colm McFadden in our half, so their threat of scoring was even more limited than ours.

And Pat Gilroy pointed out at half-time, we had to keep our shape and we should not, under any circumstances, blink first.

That's why the game was a frightful show.

We refused to be lured into their trap. , engage 12 players to attack and then, be hit on the

James McCarthy and Kevin Nolan were allowed to attack more but still, someone filled.

So we had two stubborn teams.

If it was a game of failures, we had agreed to a stalemate well before the end.

We needed the rhythm of Kevin McManamon and his ability to draw two or three men to stop him and some points from Bryan Cullen to win it in the end but we needed a bit of luck too.

Karl Lacey left injured at the start of the second half. McFadden missed a good goal opportunity just before that too.

For obvious reasons, 2014 is one of the worst memories that I have.

Strangely, we probably played our best football this year but we did not do it … Final of Ireland

Paul Flynn was the footballer of the year waiting at the half-time semifinal and Diarmuid Connolly was not far behind him.

I was back to full fitness, Bernard was at his peak and Rory O 'Carroll was still with us.

We had won All-Ireland in 2013 and leagues' 13 and '14 under Jim were playing a man-to-man attack style, pressing our [19659004] We had not lost a game since 2012 and we had a record score and performance, but Jim McGuinness clearly saw a way to beat us and his team was really well drilled in their game plan That day.

They dragged us out of position, won kick-outs in the middle of

We should have been in a more dominant position in the first half, we went from nine points to four.

Diarmuid and Paul Flynn both had good scoring chances This could have ended the game before half-time and there was a great deal of luck in McFadden's goal

But that's all. is a day that will surely haunt many Dublin players who played it. [19659004Theprofessionalofthemanager'sthoughtwasthattheDebtinnasappliedfromachampionshipmatchetofthemandpossessedandthatoftheappropriethepreparedlessons

Jim tightened the defense and made it adjustments rather than a systematic revision, making sure his philosophy didnâ € ™ t. has never been compromised.

On Saturday, I would wait to see Donegal continue his development under Declan Bonner.

But I think Donegal may cause another shock with Paddy McBrearty's cross-wound. 9659004] It is simply irreplaceable, although Michael Murphy is forced to play at least part of the game at full capacity given the joy that Donie Kingston had in the Leinster final

. without the release of McBrearty, they are a little more predictable.

I would expect Dublin to win this match – but the memories of '11 and '14 will hold a little longer.

Herald Sport