Michael Murphy was pleased with how a youthful Donegal side fought-back to claim a dramatic win over Roscommon and says the new faces are settling in nicely.
Eoin McHugh’s injury-time point proved the winner for Donegal on a 0-16 to 2-09 scoreline at Dr Hyde Park as Rory Gallagher’s side got their campaign up and running after an opening round defeat to Kerry.
McHugh, Ciarán Thompson and former Leitrim player Paul Brennan, who made his Donegal debut last week, were name checked by captain Murphy, while Jamie Brennan, Conor Gibbons and former minor captain Jason McGee have been given their chances to impress.
“It would have been very easy for a relatively young and inexperienced team to throw in the towel, but credit to the whole lot of them, they really dug in there. Thankfully we got the winning score,” he told RTÉ Sport.
Played in blustery conditions, Roscommon could only add two points to their half-time tally and Murphy says he was pleased despite trailing for the majority of the opening 35 minutes.
“I thought we acquitted ourselves well in the first half, we missed a few chances,” he said.
“We got a foothold early in the second half and chipped over a few scores.”
The win is a fillip after the home reversal to Kerry, but Murphy says it is more about performances than results at this time of the year.
“Things happen in swings and roundabouts, especially in the League,” he said.
“Last week I suppose everyone was a wee bit down in the dumps after the defeat against Kerry and likewise now with the win, everybody can maybe get a bit carried away with themselves, but like we always do in Donegal, we’ll take the League for what it is.
“It’s a fantastic competition to play in where you begin to find yourself as a player and bed in as a team...we are improving towards the bigger days in the summer.”
