Donegal's Jim McGuinness Perfectly Sums Up Why 2025 Championship Is So Unique
Donegal have booked their place in the All-Ireland quarter-finals, cruising to a 2-22 to 0-12 victory over Louth in Ballybofey this afternoon.
The first half was a very close affair, with little to choose between the two sides. This goal from Conor O'Donnell was the standout moment from the opening 35 minutes.
Conor O’Donnell with the GOAL👊 @officialdonegal turning the screw 🪛🪛#DONVLOU pic.twitter.com/3efZuzDGsH
— The GAA (@officialgaa) June 22, 2025
While Louth remained within touching distance up to the interval, there was a sense that Donegal could pull away in the second half.
That proved to be the case, with Ciaran Thompson's goal putting some daylight between the sides.
🟡🟢GOAL FOR DONEGAL 🟢🟡Deadly accuracy from Ciaran Thompson 🎯
Football clips brought to you by @AIB_GAA #TheToughest #DONvLOU @officialdonegal pic.twitter.com/GPGgz0phQP
— GAA+ (@GAAPlusOfficial) June 22, 2025
Jim McGuinness' men would see the remainder of the game out rather comfortably, running out as 16-point winners.
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Donegal's McGuinness Sums Up Why 2025 Championship Is UniqueWhile this win for Donegal was an expected one, it does set us up for what could be a thrilling conclusion to this year's championship.
The eight teams in the pot for tomorrow's quarter-final draw will all fancy their chances of making a deep run over the coming weeks. Indeed, many are labelling this as the most competitive Gaelic football championship in quite some time.
This year's All-Ireland series has shown that any county involved is capable of beating another on a given day, with a number of shock results littered throughout the round robins.
Speaking on GAA+, Jim McGuinness admitted that the erratic nature of this summer's championship makes the next few week weeks difficult to predict.
To be very honest with you, there is no challenges. We're delighted to be there, we wanted to be there. We spoke about these three weeks, we're in week three now and we have achieved that.
Without turning things too much on its head, you have to enjoy these moments and enjoy these days. We want to be in that quarter-final and we have achieved that now...
I think that has been the case since the first throw in and the first game of the league.
Everybody was speaking about how competitive Division 1 was, and it was incredibly competitive. The fact that anybody could beat anybody on a given day, that has proven to be the case.
Down and the way they have progressed through the championship, Monaghan and they way they have progressed, Meath and the way they have progressed, it means that they are playing like Division 1 teams, that's for sure.
It's very, very competitive and we know that. At the same time, from our point of view we just wanted to be in that draw. We are where we wanted to be.
The balanced nature of this year's championship is certainly a somewhat unique dynamic, with there rarely having been such an even spread of talent across the remaining counties at this stage of the competition.
It will be interesting to see what ties are produced in tomorrow's draw. We know that Armagh will take on Kerry, but the other three quarter-finals are yet to be decided.
Donegal will certainly fancy their chances of advancing to the semi-finals regardless of their opponents, with McGuinness' side looking like one of the strongest in the country at the moment.
It should make for a fascinating few weeks ahead.
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- louth
- donegal
- Gaelic football
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