GLENSWILLY WON DR MAGUIRE for the third time yesterday when they overcame Kilcar 1-10 to 0-12 in the Donegal SFC final – here are some talking points from Ballybofey.
Picture caption: The Glenswilly squad with the Dr Maguire Cup after they defeated Kilcar in the county final. Picture by Geraldine Diver.
- Glenswilly tear the formbook – and the odds – up
RANK outsiders, even with Neil Gallagher and Michael Murphy in their side, Glenswilly scoffed at the 6/1 scrawled beside their name by the turf accountants.
Over the last fortnight, ever since the moment they got over the line against Malin, they set about getting their plan right for Kilcar.
From early on, it was clear that Glenswilly had come armed with a meticulous blueprint and they carried it out to near perfection.
Glenswilly had clearly their homework done and even proved that they had some extra study done, too.
The way they set up across their ’45 was like a wall of steel and Kilcar just couldn’t punch sufficient holes.
Glenswilly were said to have had the game broken down into segments, so precise was their preparation.
Murphy’s early goal gave them something to hang on to and they never looked back thereafter and quite a few wallets about the Glen are considerably heavier today after cashing in on those 6/1 odds that always seemed a bit far fetched for a side of their standing.
- Murphy proves too hot to handle – again
KNOWING about it and doing something about it when it comes to Michael Murphy’s prowess are entirely different matters – as Kilcar found out to their cost yesterday.
When he’s in the mood, like he was here, Murphy is unmarkable.
Murphy once again showed that he’s the man for the big occasion. His career has been littered with those moments of greatness.
The Ulster final of 2011, the All-Ireland final in 2012 and, now, three Man of the Match displays for Glenswilly in Donegal SFC finals.
He made the goal look so simple: Fetching from the sky after being found by Neil Gallagher, Murphy moved away from Kilcar full-back Conor McShane before firing past Eamonn McGinley.
He burned McShane again just before half-time, but the angle just wasn’t right for a shot on goal.
Some of his points, too, were from an artist at work. The pitch is his canvas, the ball his paintbrush and the final was another work of art from Murphy.
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- Disciplined Glenswilly give Kilcar no option
KILCAR powered their way to the final, scoring 8-78 in their five Championship outings. They were odds-on to win Dr Maguire for the first time since 1993 having swatted aside the Champions, Naomh Conaill, in a semi-final that saw Kilcar score 5-10.
Over the years, Glenswilly’s discipline has often been questioned, but in yesterday’s final, they were extremely measured and disciplined in their defending.
It said much for the Glenswilly performance that Kilcar didn’t fashion one goal chance over the hour.
[adrotate group=”81″]- Kilcar’s nerves gets the better of them
NERVES and handling the big day pressure was always going to be an issue for a Kilcar side that had no previous experience in county finals.
Their side is full of inter-county experience, but county finals sometimes don a life of their own and Kilcar certainly looked and felt like a side burdened by the weight of the favourites’ tag.
Three times in the second half, they did manage to come back to within a point, but Martin McHugh’s team were too wasteful on the day and will be haunted by some of their mistakes.
They’ll be back, though, of that there can be little doubt, although McHugh will be hoping to convince 37-year-old Michael Hegarty to give it another go, given how important he was to their march to the final.
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- What now for Glenswilly?
IT IS three years now since Glenswilly went so close to an Ulster title, losing in the final at Healy Park to Ballinderry.
Few will have considered them as possible contenders this year until yesterday evening’s win.
In two weeks’ time, they will take on Kilcoo, the Down champions, in Newry and must be confident of getting over that hurdle.
Their make up is such that they’ll relish anyone at this stage. And with their big names on fire, who could blame them?
The possibilities are endless for a side that has Murphy in this form.
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