WITH SEVEN OUT of the last eight Donegal SFC titles between them, whoever comes through this evening’s clash between Glenswilly and St Eunan’s will have a significant chance of adding to that total.
Last year, it was Maxi Curran’s St Eunan’s who came through on a 0-9 to 0-6 scoreline to lift the Dr Maguire Cup. That defeat hasn’t been forgotten in the changeover of management in Glenswilly when Michael Canning stepped in to take over from Gary McDaid.
“We had to bottle that from last year and take it into Sunday,” Canning said. “And I think it will come down to hunger.”
Glenswilly (whose Darren McGinley is pictured above) strolled though Group 1 with a 100 per cent record, winning 1-10 to 1-8 at Gaoth Dobhair and overcoming Malin 3-9 to 1-8 to clinch their place in the last eight before MacCumhaill’s were beaten 1-14 to 207.
“We didn’t take anyone lightly in the group stages and this year, with the championship laid out, there’s more of a championship feel,” Canning said. “You get more time for recovery, you know the dates and that gives a little bit more time then to have a look at your opponents.
“Glenswilly and St Eunan’s are two teams that know each other inside out. From our point of view, it’s the toughest draw we could’ve got but at the same time it can be used to focus the mind. If you want to win the championship chances are you’re going to have to beat St Eunan’s somewhere along the way.”
Canning expects to have a fully fit panel to choose from this evening, as Glenswilly seek to add to the two RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta SFC titles they won in 2011 and 2013 with Michael Murphy and Neil Gallagher providing the backbone to the team.
St Eunan’s celebrate winning last year’s RTE Raidió na Gaeltachta SFC final win over Glenswilly in Ballybofey
Curran’s St Eunan’s welcome Rory Kavanagh back into the fold after the 2012 All-Ireland winning midfielder returned from his summer with Donegal Boston. Caolan Ward and Conor O’Donnell also spent the last couple of months in the States, in their case in Philadelphia and are back on board this week.
“It’s a great boost to have Rory back,” St Eunan’s selector Brendan Kilcoyne said. “He’s the captain and the leader of this team.”
Kilcoyne is aware of the familiarity that exists between the two panels of players and says “the only surprise will be if there’s a surprise.”
St Eunan’s won 3-10 to 1-7 in Ardara to open Group 2 before going down to a 2-12 to 0-8 loss against Naomh Conaill. A quarter-final place was sealed with a 0-14 to 1-6 win over Dungloe.
Like Glenswilly, St Eunan’s don’t have any real injury concerns and will enter this evening’s content in Ballybofey, throw-in 6:45pm, as slight underdogs.
“The players know each other well on a personal level,” Kilcoyne added. “They played together at school and they don’t live too far from other another. It could be tight and cagey and both teams will justifiably think they know each other’s strengths and weaknesses.”
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