Donegal SHC holders Burt face testing trip to St Eunan's in round two

It’s all about getting that top spot as the Donegal SHC enters its second week with a full round of fixtures all over the county.

And it had a cracking opener in the Cross where St Eunan’s and Setanta played out a 1-18 apiece draw getting a point each.

This was a game that the Letterkenny team left behind as they missed a golden chance to gain their first win in the Cross as ex-county player and Eunan’s mentor Eugene Organ admits as they face another tough test against reigning champions Burt in O’Donnell Park this evening.

“It is never easy to go to the Cross to get a result and we were well beaten over there last year, so this was a big improvement, he said. “We went there to win it, and we put ourselves in a position to win it, but we just did not finish the job. But they have some superb hurlers in Gerry Gilmore and Danny Cullen who moved into full forward and got that vital goal to bring them back into it and that shows his class.You can make all the plans you want but class will always prevail.

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“We had a chance to win it at the end, but we did not take a point when it was on for John Kealy and Ryan Hilferty had a chance earlier. But Kevin Campbell made a great save as we went for goals.”

Eunan’s have another tough gig against county champions Burt. Organ added: “It does not matter at what level you play them as they are always very competitive and are always a great championship team and they have some great hurlers like Ronan McDermott and Conor Gartland to name but two and they have experience all over the field.

“They will be missing Liam McKinney who is a big loss for his ability to score from play and frees and he is a fabulous athlete, but he will be back for the knockout stages in August as the US championship will be over. And we are expecting a massive battle.”

Organ added that Eunan’s are getting better numbers out this year although Sean McVeigh, who will be out for the season with a hip injury, is a massive loss.

“There is a bit of a buzz around the place, and we have two teams and there are junior lads pushing to get on to the senior panel which is a good headache to have,” Organ said.

Kieran Larkin from Tipperary and Pierce Glynn from Galway have strengthened their squad this year and Paul O’Donnell is also making a return.

Over in Ballybofey it’s a derby clash between Setanta and Sean MacCumhaill's and this could be closer than some might think.
Sean MacCumhaill's were very impressive in their 2-19 to 2-2 win over Carndonagh and could make life difficult for their neighbours for long enough over the 60 minutes.

“I saw them in the League, and they have some great young hurlers coming through and they have a nice blend of youth and experience," Organ said. "It’s a derby match and like Buncrana and Carndonagh - if they can get all their dual players out - they will fancy getting a semi-final slot.

“I expect Sean MacCumhaill's to run Setanta fairly close but I just think Setanta will have a bit too much for them up front. Setanta will be looking for that top spot in the round robin as will the rest of us as it is 1 v 4 and 2 v 3, which is a tougher gig
“But I expect MacCumahills to be making waves in a few years’ time if some of that underage talent comes through.”

Elsewhere it’s an Inishowen derby where Buncrana, who scored 4-9 against Burt, only to concede 5-13, and are fancied to get the better of a weakened Carndonagh side, who lost heavily to MacCumhaill's last time out. Jack O’Loughlin is back for Buncrana but Cathal Doherty is injured for Carn and that is a big loss. Buncrana could be contesting the fourth semi-final spot with Sean MacCumhaill's towards the end of the season.

“You would have to fancy Buncrana who showed up well against Burt," Organ said. “Carn would be very competitive if they could get all their dual players out but they only scored 2-2 the last day. Sean MacCumhaill's hit 2-22 against them but I expect Buncrana to win.”

Elsewhere we have two derbies in the Intermediate/Junior Championship as St Eunan’s second team take on Letterkenny Gaels. Four Masters meet neighbours Aodh Ruadh and in-form Dungloe take on Setanta.