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Donegal suffers relegation
15.04.09
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Report: Inishowen Independent DONEGAL will ply their trade in Division Two of the National Football League next year after a four-point defeat in Derry at the weekend brought the curtain down on this year’s League campaign and ensured that the Tir Chonaill men make the drop. Needing a win to preserve the top-flight status, Donegal were on the wrong side of the 0-14 to 0-10 score-line as Derry recorded a win that puts them into Sunday week’s final against Kerry. Derry, with Mark Lynch impressive, led 0-6 to 0-5 at the break, while Michael Doherty with two frees and Brian Roper with two fine scores from play kept Donegal in check. Within a quarter-of-an-hour of the re-start, Derry had effectively sealed the win as they moved 0-11 to 0-6 ahead. Doherty ended with six frees, but Donegal had little to shout about on the day. “It was a disappointing second-half display,” said manager John Joe Doherty, who had to watch from behind the wire at Watty Graham Park due to a pitch suspension. |
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“I felt that there was
still enough of the game still very much there for us at
half-time. But, we didn’t step up to the mark that we
should have. “We were up against a fine Derry team. At the start of the League we probably wouldn’t have pencilled in coming up here looking for anything. We have dropped softer points that we did here today and that was really the problem.” It was suggested to Doherty that defeat in their final competitive game before the Championship begins with a June 14 meeting with Antrim wasn’t the best preparation, but the Glencolmcille man refuted the claim. “To be honest I wouldn’t look at it that way,” he said. “I have said to a few people recently when looking and assessing the League, that we could use the Armagh example. They have won seven Ulster Championships in the province here, but I don’t know if anyone has been asking what League they play in… “I didn’t want to over-emphasise the League, because really at the end of the day it won’t make much of a difference heading into Championship.” |
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Kevin Cassidy, Brendan
Devenney and Michael Hegarty during the second-half
yesterday, while Frank McGlynn, Neil Gallagher, Barry
Dunnion and Colm McFadden have all to come back into the
frame before mid-June. “We do have lads that do need a couple of weeks of training,” Doherty said in response to a query about his thoughts on his prospective panel for the Ulster Championship. “They have been out injured for a while. We have an idea of where we are at at the minute, but as I said there are fellas who will need a couple more weeks so we can see if they can step up to the Championship mark.” The Donegal boss had no hesitation when asked whether or not he was satisfied with his lot, with about eight weeks to go ‘til the Ballybofey clash. “Without a doubt, I have great belief in the footballers of Donegal,” he commented. “It’s a matter of getting the right squad gathered together, getting a bit of intensity and we’ll look forward to 14th June.” Meanwhile, Derry boss Damien Cassidy said the league was about developing confidence in his players ahead of the Championship. “The League for me was about developing our Senior Panel and being able to interchange players through the campaign. That was so that if we met any difficulties later on in the year we could deal with it. Reaching the League final wasn’t a priority, one reporter mentioned, and Cassidy agreed. “We’ve done it without emptying the tank. We used the League the way I felt we needed to use it and here we are.” For full coverage of all your weekend sport, read the Inishowen Independent. |
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