THE DONEGAL LEAGUE are in must-win territory when they head to Maginn Park – or ‘The Lion’s Den’ as Peter Doherty puts it – to face Inishowen League on Saturday evening.
Donegal League were semi-finalists in the Oscar Traynor Trophy last season, going down 3-1 at Clare in the last four tie, but their hopes for this season dangle by a thread.
A 2-1 loss to Monaghan-Cavan at The Moss earlier this month has left them in the Last Chance Saloon.
“We’ve made things hard for ourselves,” Doherty, one of manager Brian Dorrian’s assistants, told Donegal Sport Hub.
[adrotate group=”80″]“We have to go to the Lion’s Den and get three points. Nothing less than a win will be any good to us.
“This is the card we’ve dealt ourselves here. Inishowen will be huge favourites. It’ll be a hard place to get anything out of.
“We have to get our pride back.
“We were poor the last day, but we’re going in confident. We’re not going hoping; we’re going up believing that we can get the result that we need.”
[adrotate group=”88″]Donegal have been rocked since that defeat by the withdrawals of Milford United pair Gary Merritt and Kyle Black, while Raymond Foyle of Castlefin Celtic has made himself unavailable.
Doherty, also from Milford United, said: ““Men pulled out and we’re hurt over that. I had a feeling that someone would pull out. To lose two boys, clubmen of my own, made it worse.
“To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. That’s the way with junior footballers sometimes. We expect their full commitment and some boys feel they can’t give it.”
[adrotate group=”46″]While Drumoghill’s Pajo Rafferty has been added to the squad, Benny Bonner is injured and will miss the game while it is not clear if Kildrum Tigers duo James Melly and Damian Crossan are to be in the squad, with their club in FAI Junior Cup action against Erne Wanderers on Sunday.
Dorrian has elected against doing media duties this week, as he had done after the Monaghan-Cavan defeat, with Doherty stepping into the breach.
Doherty said: “We sat down straight away after the last game and had a few words about it. We got back on the horse again.
[adrotate group=”76″]“That game hasn’t been mentioned since. It’s been all about how we’ll play against Inishowen. The last day was a horrible day at the office.”
Listen to the full interview below …
https://soundcloud.com/donegalsporthub-club-notes/peter-doherty-ahead-of-donegal-v-inishowen-in-oscar-traynor
Tags: