Rory Gallagher cited the dominance enjoyed by the Donegal midfield in the second half as key to their Allianz Football League opening round win over Derry.

The introduction of Martin McElhinney to the crucial sector paid rich dividends for the Ulster champions who turned a three-point half-time deficit into a six-point victory.

"I thought after a bright opening that we fell away badly. Derry were in complete control and we probably rode our luck a wee bit to only be three behind at half-time," the Donegal supremo told RTE.

"[We were] probably worried about our [fitness] but we came good in the second half.

"I thought we gained a platform in the middle of the park. In the first half Derry were catching us out with their kick-outs, that gave them a massive advantage.Then we gave away two bad scores from our own kick-outs and they are big swings in games.

"Once Martin McElhinney and Neil Gallagher got a stranglehold in the middle of the field and [Michael] Murphy went inside in the second half, they upped the intensity levels an awful lot and I thought [we] were the better team by far."

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