Barry Dunnion happy with side’s progression to semi-final

Four Masters manager Barry Dunnion was pretty pleased with his side’s display in accounting for Dungloe in the quarter-final in Fr Tierney Park, Ballyshannon on Sunday and especially with the final quarter when they hit 10 unanswered points in an impressive win.

“We’re happy with it (final quarter). We weren’t happy with a lot of things but I suppose that last 15 minutes the game kinda opened up for us. We got on top of their kick-outs and obviously got the scores from them,” said Dunnion afterwards.

The former county player along with two other former county men, Barry  Monaghan and Michael Doherty, are plotting the way forward for what is a very young and talented squad.

On Sunday young Turlough Carr was the player who showed the way in that blistering final quarter with an impressive two pointer from outside the 45m line. And his manager was not surprised by what he was looking at.

“Listen, I’ve said it about Turlough, I’ve said it about all them young lads. We’re just lucky they are in our club because they are special talents. They’ve grown up winning games all their lives; they don’t know what getting beaten is like and they take that into games.”

Up until the final quarter there was little between Four Masters and Dungloe with the sides level seven times but the Donegal Town side had to be happy especially as they had the elements in their favour in the second half.

“It was scrappy, it was cagey. Both teams were trying to figure each other out. They were turning us over and we were turning them over then and probably not punishing then,” said Dunnion, who agreed that the shower at the start contributed to the mistakes.

“Then when you have a team as young as ours you have to give them a bit of leeway. They are not going to make the right decisions all the time. They are learning along the way

“I suppose for us it’s another game. We are developing. We’re in a semi-final but we kinda look at it as another game on our journey.

“It’s not about us winning championships or anything like that. All we are trying to do is develop these young players and give them that experience of championship football.”

For Dunnion and his assistants the task of handling the talent on offer has to be an exciting one but he also praised the older guys who still have much to offer in what is a transition period for the senior team.

“I know everybody is talking about the younger lads but the older lads have been fantastic as well. Listen, I played with a couple of them older lads and we were one game from going to Division 4 and that’s not that long ago. So them boys have been in the trenches and they deserve great credit as well.”

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Right now it’s about putting the head down and getting ready for the semi-final. At the time of the interview Barry Dunnion and Four Masters were not aware of who they would be playing but they now know it is that other team that wears blue and white, Naomh Conaill and it is a mouth-watering prospect.

“We’re there. Will that performance win a semi-final? It will not. But listen, we can look forward to it. With a young side you are not going to dominate games.”

Asked about different periods in both their games against Glenswilly and again on Sunday against Dungloe when they had difficulty with their own kick-outs, Dunnion had nothing but praise for his ‘keeper, young Lewis McCaughan.

“In fairness to Lewis, he is learning along the way too. He is only 18 years of age and I thought he did really well in fairness to him. His save before half-time was brilliant and that was a vital save; but Lewis has been doing that all year bringing off brilliant saves at vital times,” said Dunnion, who reiterated that they needed to improve to win a semi-final, pointing to a brilliant display from St Michael’s the night before and Gaoth Dobhair “a real powerful side”.

“But we’re there,” said Dunnion.