Red Hughs boss Seosamh Macceallabhui will look to take his side one better this weekend as they prepare to face Dunedin Connollys in the All-Ireland Junior Club Football Championship quarter-final.
The Junior Donegal and Ulster Champions will face a tough task against the Scottish champions and Macceallabhui insists Red Huges are playing a side with real imposing quality.
“We’ll approach this game similar to how we approach every other game and to be honest these guys have a lot of pedigree, they have five or six former county footballers and they might not have been ex-county footballers if they hadn’t moved away.
“We don’t meet many teams with county footballers in it, that is a fact.”
The Edinburgh outfit were crowned Scottish Champions for the ninth consecutive year in 2018, reaching the All-Ireland quarter-final for the third year in a row and Macceallabhui acknowledged Connollys experience in the competition could have a massive impact on the fixture.
“I have said that quite a few times and not a lot of people seem to understand that. We haven’t been in this position before and they have a wealth of experience, that’s something we can’t call on. We are trying to make this all up as we go along.”
The two sides will meet on Sunday at O’Donnell Park, Letterkenny and Macceallabhui insisted the home advantage could make ‘all the difference’ to Hughs chances.
“We have won seven games now on the trot and when you win seven games in a row, in any competition, everybody feels fairly confident.
“But there is a little element of trying to fight apathy on this occasion because everybody you meet expects you to have a tough game, but still win, and I don’t like that narrative.
“I would prefer none of that to be honest with you. There is no reason for us to think we are any better than Dunedin. We have had a long campaign but they have a lot of experience in their ranks.”
Preparation for the quarter-final proved to a frustrating affair for Red Hughs and Macceallabhui, as they failed to gain up-to-date footage on the Scottish outfit, something Macceallabhui describes as being ‘back in the dark ages’.
“We have virtually nothing on them and anything we do have is two-years-old and there is something like seven players change in their setup since then.
“On all other occasions, especially when playing around Donegal, you know a lot about the other teams and then when you head into Ulster Championship you get video footage and you can analyse and figure out who will give you problems.
“But at this point, we are back to square one, almost like it’s back to the dark ages, but we’ll give it a good go, there is no doubt about that.”
The East Donegal side could be without the services of Oran Doherty and Gerard Melaugh after the pair suffered knocks, while Shane Gallagher will not play as he continues to recover from a broken jaw.
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