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Tommy Carr: Mayo will be a bridge too far for Donegal

Mayo ran riot against Donegal in the 2013 All-Ireland quarter-final
Mayo ran riot against Donegal in the 2013 All-Ireland quarter-final

RTÉ analyst Tommy Carr believes that the odds are stacked against Donegal in their quest to defeat Mayo in next Saturday's All-Ireland SFC quarter-final.

And while the former Dublin player and manager was impressed with Donegal's second-half showing that saw them comfortably beat Galway, the seven-day turnaround, he feels, will just be too much for Rory Gallagher's side to cope with after what has been a tough campaign so far for the Ulster side.

"I can't see any way that Donegal can turn around in the space of a week and beat Mayo," was Carr's quite frank conclusion.

"I don't think they can recover physically and mentally to take on Mayo."

Like other observers, Carr feels that Donegal are "a tired team" and their tendency to go long periods without scoring in games will ultimately be their undoing. Against Galway they went 24 minutes without a score.

"Donegal have played Tyrone, Armagh, Derry, Monaghan and Galway - all tough games. They do look a tired team and those barren periods are becoming more regular. You won't get away with that against a Mayo team who's ticking at the scoreboard all the time.

"It's all stacked in Mayo's favour."  

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