DONEGAL goalkeeper Shaun Patton hopes his ankle injury proves a blessing in disguise as he looks to edge glove rival Gavin Mulreany for the No 1 jersey in Saturday’s All-Ireland SFC quarter-final against Monaghan at Croke Park.
The St Eunan’s man suffered the problem in the latter stages of last month’s Ulster final win over Armagh and missed the All-Ireland group-stage clashes with Tyrone and Cavan.
Mulreany deputised in the opening-round loss to the Red Hands in Ballybofey — Jim McGuinness’ first-ever defeat at MacCumhaill Park — but Donegal rebounded with a convincing victory over the Breffni Blues.
Patton returned for the final-round win over Mayo and his booming kick-out created the last-gasp Ciarán Moore point that won the game and snatched second place in Group 1.
Donegal powered past Leinster champions Louth in Sunday’s preliminary quarter-final to set up a last-eight clash with the Farney at Croke Park.
It will be their third game in 14 days but Patton feels fresh ahead of the trip to HQ.
The 29-year-old said: “It is an intense schedule. I’m not running the legs off myself like the other boys, but it’s intense and you can’t afford to be picking up knocks when it’s week on week.
“But that’s the structure of the Championship, there’s no point complaining about it.
“I had a wee break to myself, so I’m feeling quite good and I’m delighted to be back in.”
And Patton insists the Ulster kingpins are in safe hands if Mulreany gets the nod again.
He said: “It’s tough to watch on from the sidelines but Gavin stepped in and did really well.
“You look at the Tyrone game and it was a tough game to go into. The game was flat from our perspective so I’m delighted to get back in but we have a fantastic goalkeeper in Gavin behind me.”
Donegal also struggled against Ger Brennan’s men in the opening half on Sunday, kicking five wides and three shots that fell short.
But another Patton kick-out sparked them to life.
The ball was flicked on by Michael Murphy. Moore then set up Conor O’Donnell, who fired to the net.
The hosts surged clear in the second half to KO the Wee County.
But Patton has warned that another sluggish start could cost Donegal against Monaghan.
He said: “The whole point was getting the result and getting to Croke Park for the quarter-final, so we’re happy to get that box ticked.
“It’s the performances we’ll have to look at, that first half we wouldn’t be too happy with, but the job is done and we’ll get the bodies right.
“I don’t really know what the cause of it was, whether it was poor shot selection which cost us at the other end.
“We were happy to get into half-time and we’re happy with the second-half performance, but we can’t really allow a first half like that to happen.”