Fatigue a problem for Donegal

All-Ireland SFC Quarter-final/Cork v Donegal: Can Donegal get over the six-day syndrome and bring their youthful team to the All-Ireland semi-final? That question has been repeated like a broken record to manager Brian McIver all this week and, in fairness, he hasn't avoided it. It's not ideal, he admits, but all he has to do is think about all the teams that are done for the summer and he quickly gets over it.

The truth is none of the Donegal players collapsed to the knees in exhaustion at the end of last Sunday's fourth-round qualifier win over Fermanagh. That was a strangely dull championship game, where excitement took a back seat to neighbourly tension, and neither Donegal nor Fermanagh played anything like the free-flowing, fast-running football that we know they can.

In the end, though, their three-point win was fully deserved. They outscored Fermanagh 0-8 to 0-3 in the second half, and once their midfield and defence got on top of Fermanagh the game was as good as over. It certainly wasn't one of those overly mental and physically draining games that could have left a major question mark over Donegal's ability to play their best football just six days on.

If anything they'll be even stronger this afternoon. Free- taker Michael Doherty has finally recovered from his knee injury and starts instead of James Gallagher at left corner forward, and their scoring threat is still one of the most exciting in the country. Which is just as well because Cork boast one of the best forwards in the country in their number 13, James Masters.

There's not much to say about Masters at this stage that hasn't been said already, but his latest showing against Kerry in the Munster semi-final was as good a performance as seen anywhere this summer. He ended with 1-6, including four unforgettable points from play, and a masterful finish to the only goal of the game that began with a long ball from Graham Canty.

Canty will miss the rest of Cork's season, a victim of a cruciate ligament injury sustained late in the win over Kerry. His absence leaves a major hole in the Cork defence, not because there aren't other players to move in, but because Canty is arguably the finest all-round defender in the country.

Donegal won't have too much sympathy, however, as they're still missing full back Paddy Campbell through suspension.

Anyway, Derek Kavanagh moves from midfield to take over from Canty at full back, a position he has played in frequently before. Pearse O'Neill moves to midfield, with David Niblock coming in at centre forward. The likes of John Hayes and Donncha O'Connor will want to be a little more active than they were against Kerry, as there's always the danger Masters might have a quiet day.

Donegal's options up front are many. Youngsters like Leon Thompson and Colin Kelly again showed their potential, while the more experienced Christy Toye and Michael Hegarty chipped in with important points when needed. Toye has been moved from the right wing into full forward to facilitate Doherty's return, while Ciarán Booner moves from the full to the halfforward line.

Brendan Boyle's display, after coming on for Anthony Thompson in Enniskillen last week, earns him a starting berth.

Considering these two teams have never met in the championship before there's not much else to go on besides recent form, although it's still not hard to see where this game can be won and lost. Both teams, crucially, look evenly balanced and secure at midfield, with Donegal's Neil Gallagher the most productive player on the field in Brewster Park last Sunday, likewise Cork's Nicholas Murphy in the Munster replay win over Kerry.

Both sides' half backs are equally capable, which presents the slight threat of a low-scoring, defensive game. All that takes us back to the six-day syndrome.

If Cork go at Donegal the way they did in both the drawn and replayed Munster final then they are going to be very hard to contain. Cork also showed form at this stage last year, and the extra confidence gained with the win over Kerry should be just enough to see them secure the semi-final spot.

CORK: A Quirke; M Prout, D Kavanagh, K O'Connor; M Shields, G Spillane, A Lynch; N Murphy, P O'Neill; S O'Brien, D Niblock, K McMahon; J Masters, D O'Connor, J Hayes.

DONEGAL: P Durcan; N McGee, E McGee, K Lacey; T Donoghue, B Monaghan, B Dunnionl; N Gallagher; B Boyle; C Bonner, M Hegarty, R kavanagh; L Thompson, C Toye, M Doherty.