Jim McGuiness praised the ruthless manner with which his team achieved their one-point win over Mayo this afternoon and declared that his team are exactly where they want to be.
The Ulster champions ended up second in Group 1, with a better scoring difference that Tyrone, but finishing behind them owing to their defeat in round one.
It means they'll go into tomorrow's draw on RTÉ's Morning Ireland knowing they're guaranteed a home preliminary quarter-final next weekend, with the process designed to avoid repeat pairings.
As such, they'll face Cork, Connacht champions Galway or Leinster Kings Louth.
A draw would have given them the exact same situation today owing to their superior scoring difference to Mayo.
'They were ruthless and went for the jugular'
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) June 15, 2025
Jim McGuinness was delighted to see Donegal get the victory against Mayo
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But they didn't settle for a share of the spoils, with Ciaran Moore kicking the winner after the hooter, and after Fergal Boland appeared to have saved the Green and Red's summer.
"The manner of it, the way we responded every time there was a bit of adversity there - particularly to the goal", was Jim McGuinness's answer when he was asked what had most pleased him.
"At the end they were a wee bit ruthless and went for the jugular and finished it off.
"All these teams are top teams. It's hard for Mayo, out of the championship and that's the reality. They have a lot of size, a lot of quality and a lot of conditioning there and they ask a lot of questions of you.
"We're delighted, that was a big, big game and a physical game and we're delighted to get through.
"We're where we want to be, that's the bottom line. We've just won a game and we play next weekend again. We want to go and try and win that game and be in the game after that as well.
"That's when we'll get a breather. We did that at the start of the National League. We played five weeks in a row so that's not an issue. We'll focus on recovery now and get them back on the pitch during the week and see how we go."
'The league table doesn't lie'
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) June 15, 2025
Stephen Rochford was gutted to see Mayo exit the championship at the death against Donegal
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For Stephen Rochford, the interim Mayo manager owing to Kevin McStay's illness, there was no hiding the disappointment of the way they went out
They had battled back from a half-time deficit of three points, but ultimately their day one defeat to Cavan came back to haunt them.
They finished with a +32 better scoring difference than the Breffni, but went out on the head-to-head rule.
But Rochford wasn't making any excuses.
"When you play a league format, you get what you deserve," he told RTÉ Sport afterwards.
"Over the course of the three games, the league table doesn't lie.
"We would have been disappointed with the first half. We didn't get to the pitch of it the way we would have hoped. Much better in the second half, much crisper, brought the game to Donegal.
"Two good teams going at it and you were never going to get a full 70 minutes. Donegal will be happy with their full 70 minutes but we will reflect back on a more consistent approach may have given us something different.
"When it comes to the last kick out, the ball breaks to us or Ciarán Moore takes off. Maybe it comes down to we're then searching for a winning score - it's tight.
"We feel we're competitive and we can challenge with the best teams. Donegal are a number of people's favourite for the All-Ireland so it comes down to a kick of a ball."
Along with Clare, Derry and fellow Connacht outfit Roscommon, Mayo failed to get out of the All-Ireland group stages.
It brings to an end a frustrating year in which they reached the Division 1 final of the National League, before making it to the Connacht decider - but lost both.
A medical episode saw Kevin McStay step back from managing the team after the Cavan defeat and the future remains unclear on the west coast.
"It's mid-June and we're out of the championship, it's very, very disappointing," Rochford acknowledged.
"Kevin McStay is still the manager of the Mayo team. I was standing in on an interim basis. Our season comes to an end and we'll review the year as appropriate."
"People always look to see if that's the finality of some players I think everybody, going into that last minute or two, was giving their all.
"There has been a number of young players that have come into it but that's just the way that team group evolves. Over time, you need to bring in those new players."
