Donegal boss Jim McGuinness feels it would’ve been “a much different game in the second-half” against Kerry yesterday if Micheál Burns hadn’t been sent off.

The Tir Chonaill men had a man advantage for the entire second-half in Killarney following Burns’s dismissal by referee Sean Hurson after the fracas that followed the half-time hooter which left Donegal’s Ryan McHugh with a bloodied face.

The visitors had taken in a five-point lead at the break before going on to win by 2-20 to 0-16 and, speaking to BBC Sport NI afterwards, McGuinness accepted it would’ve been “a tougher battle” in the second-half if the All-Ireland champions had 15 on the pitch.

"Listen, it was a tough, tough game. Obviously, the sending off had a big impact on the game and probably had a big impact on the scoreboard as well," stated the Glenties man.

"It would have been a much different game in the second half other than that, but listen, from our own point of view, we were happy with the way we played, happy with the first half.

"It would have been a tougher battle in the second half, no doubt about that, but we're just happy to get the result."

He added: "I suppose, getting the win and putting us in a position now where one more victory could take us to the quarter-final is what we were looking for. That was the big part coming in here today. It was a game that we wanted to win from that point of view, listen, we just tried to embrace it.

"It gives us the opportunity now to win one more game and hopefully we can do that now.

"At the end of the day, it's very, very disappointing when you get beaten at Ulster. It was important we got back on the horse today and thankfully the boys did that."

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