'Serious bit of clipping' - Lee Keegan on Donegal-Mayo rivalry's genesis

Jim McGuinness, Donegal and Mayo need little to no introduction.

The peak of McGuinness’ first tenure was, of course, 2012’s All-Ireland SFC final win over the Connacht men.

Many will feel the low point in that same four-year spell came two years later when Donegal, back in another decider, fell to Kerry. But McGuinness would probably tell you his rock bottom came in between.

WATCH: Mayo v Donegal All-Ireland preview: Patton's return a worry

It was a day when Donegal’s house of cards fell spectacularly as the team slid to its heaviest Championship defeat in 67 years.

The reigning Sam Maguire holders were vulnerable, coming into the last eight of the 2013 All-Ireland series having relinquished their Ulster title to Monaghan. The aura faded further as they stumbled past lowly Laois in the previous Qualifier round.

Waiting to expose all of that as well as inflict their own measure of revenge for the previous September's All-Ireland decider defeat was a primed and motivated Mayo. Two early goals from Cillian O’Connor and Donal Vaughan had Mayo steamrolling ahead by the 13th minute.

Reigning Player of the Year Karl Lacey was called into action after just 23 minutes but it was clear he was nowhere near fit.

Mark McHugh, poleaxed in that provincial final loss to the Farney men, had suffered a perforated eardrum as well as a concussion.

But so out of gas were Donegal that they were forced to start a player that had spent two nights in hospital less than a fortnight previously. Truth be told, the warning signs were there from way out that season, 12 years ago now, long before that 4-17 to 1-10 hammering by Mayo.

Relegation from Division 1 looked to have been recovered from when Donegal defeated Tyrone in Ballybofey in May, but defeat in the Ulster final and then the manner of their crumbling surrender of the Sam Maguire left the team and its manager at a crossroads.

Donegal and Mayo were viewed as competitors for the big prizes and the season prior, Michael Murphy and Co. inflicted the latest in their long line of All-Ireland final disappointments.

Rory Kavanagh later detailed in his excellent autobiography, Winning, that there was also a niggly undercurrent to that rivalry.

Behind closed doors, challenge matches often turned to nasty affairs. So Donegal set off for Jones Road in full knowledge that Mayo were gunning for them, and on a number of levels. Mayo were ready for war. But, as it turned out, Donegal simply weren’t.

By the midpoint, the scoreboard already read 2-10 to 0-4, a simply stunning sight when you consider what the bedrock of Donegal’s renaissance, under McGuinness, had been built upon.

For a number of weeks it felt like Donegal and the Glenties native’s time together was ending in the most underwhelming of fashions.

He was already employed by Celtic and the initial word was that Glasgow was now going to become his permanent residence.

Eventually, he and the county board got around a table. As far as McGuinness was concerned, certain things had to be guaranteed by others if he was to take the reins for a fourth successive season.

For four of the eight weeks of the duration of the 2013 Ulster Championship, Donegal players were away on club duty as three rounds of club championship were shoehorned into summer.

Injuries were picked up, club rivalries became heated. And, like water and oil, it was painfully obvious that the club and county merger just hadn’t mixed.

McGuinness, at the time, insisted there were too many "negative" dynamics and Donegal got no "traction" at training. "We were managing a situation, not a team," he recalled.

For 2014, it was decided that all club championship action in the county would be stalled until Donegal’s interest was finished.

And while that season ultimately ended in an All-Ireland final defeat at the hands of Kerry, their restructured approach had made all the difference.

It’s easy to forget now but the start of McGuinness’ first reign didn’t have anywhere near the same lure or interest that his second coming enjoyed.

Donegal were at a low ebb and their new, fresh-faced boss’s stock, at that level, even with the previous year’s U-21 success, didn’t prick attentions, not initially at least.

Ironically enough, one of the side’s first challenge games came at Markievicz Park, with Mayo the opposition.

And Lee Keegan - Mayo’s five-time All-Star - says some early seeds of hostility were first scattered on that cold January afternoon.

Clipping

“I vividly remember the first of those so-called challenge games in 2011, it was up in Sligo,” Keegan told DonegalLive. “I just remember there was a serious bit of clipping involved.

“Myself, Rory Kavanagh and Kevin Cassidy were all sent to the sideline. But it was instantly competitive.

“Maybe it was the fact that James Horan and Jim were just in the door, young managers looking to drag their sides to a certain level as quickly as possible.

“We gave as good as we got but I’ll never forget Andy Moran pulling me by the jersey, I was only 20 at the time, and just saying mess with anyone you want, but just give Kevin Cassidy a wide berth!”

Keegan, now a TV pundit with The Sunday Game, says he never saw any real value in those sort of cloak-and-dagger dust-ups.

With no repercussions or, to be honest, law involved, they were often powder kegs that needed just the smallest of sparks to set off.

“I honestly don’t know why sides do it and they were something I never liked, challenge games I mean. I never felt there was any benefit to them.

“And the Donegal one in particular, there was always just real bite in it. Most other challenge games would fizzle out in the second half but there was always needle in Mayo and Donegal.

“And someone decided it was a good idea to play Donegal again, in Swinford in early 2012. Again, it was just bedlam, a real war.”

Interestingly enough, Keegan says that off the pitch and in more tranquil surroundings, Donegal and Mayo players of that era mixed very well.

And while he hated to see them coming in Croke Park, Castlebar or Ballybofey, he admits the same wasn’t true on a rare night out.

Lee Keegan and Kevin Keegan get to grips with Ryan and Mark McHugh in Castlebar back in 2015

“The funny thing is, we actually ended up really good friends with the Donegal lads. There was a serious crossover from Sligo IT at the time, a good few of them were even teammates there.

“Even on International Rules trips, All-Star award nights or whatever, I got to know Neil McGee and Michael Murphy really well.

“When Michael decided to retire at the time, I did too and we spoke about that. He’s had a change of heart since and I have to say he’s been amazing.

“But you really got to know them. So there was that thing where we despised each other on the pitch, but, genuinely, you’d love to see those lads coming on one of those nights out.

“They were the exact same as ourselves, rough and ready and just wanting to get to the top. It’s the exact same now with the likes of Mark and Ryan McHugh, Patrick McBrearty as well.

“I’ve always had a massive respect for that group of Donegal players. It was always a battle but, like I say, when we meet up now there is no animosity whatsoever and it’s actually usually good fun.”

Heartbreakingly, Keegan came out on the wrong end of six All-Ireland finals. In 2012 Mayo, as a county, already had its fair share of scars with 1989, ‘96, ‘97, 2004 and ‘06 losses on Jones Road still fresh in supporters’ minds.

Keegan, though, didn’t carry any emotional baggage from any of that. He was fresh-faced and just looking forward to the occasion back then.

The first cut is often the deepest, though. And with the benefit of hindsight, and all that would come after, does he view the Donegal loss any differently to the five subsequent disappointments?

“I don’t dwell on any of those final losses to be honest,” he explained. “The Donegal one, the way I’d look back on it… I just recall it all feeling very fresh and very new to the likes of me and the younger lads at the time.

“I just don’t think we were ready for Donegal. What they brought at the time, no one was bringing, I suppose. They had this new defensive structure while everyone else was still looking to go man-to-man.

“So many teams were caught cold by that. Not that it was any kind of ambush, that style, I just mean it was so hard to replicate or mirror it, as they just had the hours and repetition built up.

“It was like hitting a brick wall. And on the flip side to it, and it’s something that doesn’t get enough credit, but when they broke, the speed and numbers that came with that just overwhelmed teams.

“Like, if you look back at the games, most of Donegal’s players were actually ahead of the breaking ball within a few seconds of the turnover.

“It was bitterly disappointing because we reacted really well after conceding two early goals. I mean, the first goal from Murphy was just outstanding.

“People can analyse us or say what they want about Mayo in that instance, but no team defends that goal. The counter involved, the ball in from Karl Lacey and a prime Michael Murphy, just bang and goal.

“It was a real lesson for us that day. And I do think our record after that, against Donegal in championship, was pretty good. I think in 2013, ‘15 and ‘19 in Castlebar, we came out on top.

“But I suppose they’ll say they came out on top when it mattered that day in 2012.”

Revenge

When 2013 did come around, and with relations as sour as they could get at that point, Donegal were looking to get back on track in the All-Ireland series, having previously coughed up their provincial crown to Monaghan.

A league meeting in Castlebar the previous March was again tetchy as the hosts pushed Donegal further towards the Division 1 trapdoor with a 1-10 to 0-9 win.

So the stage was set, come August, for what many expected to be another knock-down, drag-out style encounter between two sides that brought out the best and worst in each other.

But from very early on, it was evident that Mayo were on it and Donegal simply weren’t.

“I have to be completely honest, I think that was down to just pure hunger that day. Donegal had scaled the mountain and it’s just very hard to lift the thing again after that.

“It was the exact opposite for us. They ticked a huge box. And even having to come through Ulster, Monaghan beat them in the final, that was a bearpit of a province at the time. It still is.

“Connacht back then wasn’t the same as it is now so we were very fresh. Add hunger to that, the wide open spaces of Croke Park, we were ready to be let off the leash regardless of who we were up against.

“It was the perfect storm for us. Their legs were probably wobbly after Ulster anyway, so we just capitalised on that. As soon as the game started you could sense that it was on.

“And from the 20-minute mark on, the game really was over.”

Donegal now go to Dr Hyde Park at the weekend, a venue where Mayo haven’t tasted defeat, in league or championship, since 2001.

“I don’t know what it is but we seem to like the Hyde,” Keegan explained. “The pitch is fantastic and we just seem to love it there.

“We’re used to playing there and going there. And I’m not just saying it but I do have some sympathy for Donegal and their supporters.

“It is unfair, to a degree, with the travel. Kerry have the same issue at the weekend too, going to Tullamore. It is what it is.

“But from a Donegal point of view, it’s a kind of backs-to-the-wall mentality headed down there.”

Keegan says he's got to know quite a few Donegal lads really well like Neil McGee

Blessing

Keegan has had a good look at Donegal this season as a pundit and he feels if they do scale the mountain once more under McGuinness this term, they may well look back at their loss to Tyrone as a turning point.

“I do believe that Tyrone result might be the best thing that could have happened to them.

“It will have given them a real reality check. With the talent they have, and the expectation that was there after McGuinness’ first season back, this sort of just refocuses them.

“I think the lesson to take away from Tyrone is that you can’t completely rely on Michael Murphy to get you over the line.

“It felt like he was coming in to be the last piece on what was already a very impressive jigsaw, as we saw last year.

“But it seemed like everything was being worked through him, similar to Michael Langan, maybe. So you saw the reaction against Cavan. It was much fresher, more varied in a way.

“So with another two weeks’ respite, probably some injured lads coming back into the mix, I’d be worried a little for Mayo.

“Donegal looked like a poked bear in Breffni Park so it’ll be very interesting to see their approach at the weekend and what they produce. Again, I find it hard to see anything other than a Donegal win.”

One interesting dynamic ahead of the weekend is that of Stephen Rochford and the stand-in Mayo manager’s inside knowledge of their weekend opposition.

Rochford served under Declan Bonner during his time in charge and Keegan says Mayo will definitely look to tap into that.

“It’s definitely relevant. He’s coached every single one of those lads and knows the set-up inside out. It will count for something.

“But what that is exactly, what it will count for in the heat of battle, time will tell I suppose.

“I find with Mayo, a lot of that just goes out the window. Like, I’m really interested to see what the game plan will be for Donegal.

“I think Mayo… take the Cavan game for instance. I find that Mayo maybe don’t give sides the full respect they deserve when they think they’re better than them.

“It’s a really bad trait to have. I think as a result, we play to that same level then and often worse. Whereas a Donegal or a Tyrone, well that’s viewed as a game where we really need to be at the pitch of it.

“The good thing for Mayo this weekend is that it’s do or die. They have to produce, they’ll need to be at their absolute peak. Still, will that be enough against this Donegal, refocused and regrouped? I don’t think it will be.

“If Mayo can stop that relentless running game, they could have a chance. But the flip to that is if Donegal decide to start kicking the ball, it could be a different kind of trouble as our defence isn’t that tall.

“Murphy, McBrearty and Oisin Gallen are fantastic footballers but they are also very big men. So Mayo have a lot to think about ahead of Sunday.”