By Seamus Leonard - @RTESundayGame
Donegal travel to Cavan hoping for a marked improvement on their preliminary round display against Antrim.
The Tir Chonaill men were the deserving winners on the day in Ballybofey, but that is not saying much given the paucity of the Saffrons’ display in what was a desperately poor game.
Still, any sort of win is welcome at this time of year, particularly for a county which has not tasted provincial success since the All-Ireland winning year of 1992.
Donegal boss Jim McGuinness will be breathing a sigh of relief after full-forward Michael Murphy returned to training after picking up a leg infection.
Rory Kavanagh and Michael Hegarty should also be fine, but Donegal have serious concerns over the availability of defender Frank McGlynn (hamstring) and Neil Gallagher (groin).
Cavan have opted to give youth a chance, which is not surprising after the Breffni County reached the All-Ireland U-21 decider last month.
They may have been well beaten by Galway on the day, but even qualifying for such an event will give a boost to a county which has been down in the doldrums for some years now.
Five of the starlets will make their Championship debuts in defence, so goalkeeper James Reilly and centre-back John McCutcheon will be expected to show leadership back there.
You would imagine that Donegal will target that area, and it would be shocking if Murphy and his forward partner Colm McFadden don’t position themselves closer to the posts than they did in the Antrim game.
Cavan will be glad to see Michael Lyng back at centre-forward after the Cavan Gaels clubman missed the past six Championship seasons through injury. If the 26-year-old can link up well with Seanie Johnston then the hosts might just have a chance of progressing.
But while there may be brighter days ahead of Cavan, Allianz League Division 2 winners Donegal are on the up and a semi-final date with Tyrone beckons for them.
Verdict: Donegal
