Donegal’s Karl Lacey is relishing the opportunity to play in an All-Ireland final and is confident the side will give it everything at Croke Park on 23 September.
Jim McGuinness’ outfit booked their place in the decider with a 0-16 to 1-11 win over Cork on Sunday, and the All-Star defender’s thoughts are now turning to the 70 minutes of football that will decide where Sam Maguire will reside over the winter.
“Getting to an All-Ireland final is what dreams are made of and we’re now one step away from repeating what we did in ’92," Lacey said.
“We know we have things to work on. Dublin or Mayo are waiting in the wings and whoever comes through will present us with a tough test.
“Getting to the final will be a big deal in Donegal. Our supporters have been great all year and they now have another massive day to look forward to.
“A couple of the Cork players came up to me afterwards and told me to make the most of being involved in an All-Ireland final, as they don’t come around too often."
“Getting to an All-Ireland final is what dreams are made of and we’re now one step away from repeating what we did in 92" - Karl Lacey
The centre-back added: “On Tuesday, Jim (McGuinness) will get us all re-focused again and away from all the hype. We’ll be back in Croker again in four weeks with the intention of giving it everything."
Lacey also alluded to the different approach that Donegal adopted in their style of play this season.
“Last year we took a lot of criticism for being so defensive, but it was Jim’s first year and that was the template he used to get us back to being competitive again.
“We got to a semi-final. But when Jim got us together again in January, we examined the offensive side of our game with the main objective of getting more scores on the board.
“Thankfully we’ve improved on that aspect and it has got us as far as an All-Ireland final."
An impressive start to the second half was crucial to the victory over Cork, and left Lacey delighted at the way the side expressed themselves in that second period.
“The first half was score for score, but after the break we hit over a few points to give ourselves a bit of a cushion. The game opened up after that and we had the legs to run at Cork.
“The likes of Paddy McBrearty, Colm McFadden and Michael Murphy all stood out, and our half-backs made those crucial darts up the field to keep us on the front foot.”
