After the disappointment of losing the Ulster SFC final, it's now a case of onwards and upwards for Donegal after their comprehensive win over Galway in Round 4B of the All-Ireland SFC qualifiers at Croke Park.
Gaining a foothold in the middle and moving Michael Murphy to full-forward were key as Rory Gallagher's side upped the ante in the second half to record a 3-12 to 0-11 victory.
Next up is a date with Mayo on in seven days time and a chance to the banish the memory of a 17-point loss against the westerners at the quarter-final stage in 2013.
"We're delighted to be back in the quarter-final and that's where we want to be," was Gallagher's immediate reaction on RTÉ Sport after the win over Galway.
Reflecting on the game, the Fermanagh native admitted that Galway's wins through the back door gave them an initial edge, but a change in approach from Donegal in the second period swung the game in their favour.
"Galway came in with a bit of momentum and we were coming off a defeat," he said.
"Once we got on top in the middle in the second-half we went on to dominate the game" - Rory Gallagher
"We started the game well but then Galway took over in the middle of the park and they gave us a lot of trouble for most of the first half.
"Once we got on top in the middle in the second half we went on to dominate the game. Michael [Murphy] then went inside to full-forward and he made a big difference."
Paddy McBrearty, who scored Donegal's opening goal had to leave the field with a knee injury, but his manager is hopeful he'll be fit for the clash with the Connacht champions.
"He just has a problem just above his knee. At times he was running freely and other times it was giving him a bit of bother. I'd imagine with a full week's training he'd be grand. Thankfully we had Leo [McLoone] to come in and he made a difference."
Galway boss Kevin Walsh said of his beaten charges: “They’re really distraught in there, but they’ve worked really hard all year and that’s all you can ask of them.
“We found ourselves down, maybe the last 20 minutes of the first half was good and they fought very, very hard and kept going, and I suppose we probably should have taken one or two more chances towards the start of the second half.
“That would really have put the doubts in the minds of Donegal and we didn’t take them. They hit on the counter and the reverse came - they put the doubts in our boys’ heads and we just kind of fell away towards the end.
“These are a very, very honest bunch of guys and we know that the scoreline doesn’t reflect the actual game, so that’s important for us as well.”
