‘The better team won - but we’re not far away’ - Malin manager Paul Gallagher

There was no hiding the disappointment etched across the faces of Malin players and management as they left O'Donnell Park on Sunday evening. Naomh Columba were simply the sharper, stronger, and slicker side on the day - and their 3-14 to 2-9 victory in Intermediate Football Championship final was fully deserved.

For Malin boss Paul Gallagher, it was a tough one to take. His side, who had defied expectations to reach the final, never quite found their rhythm and were left chasing shadows for long spells against a well-drilled Glencolmcille outfit.

“The boys know themselves - we just didn’t play very well,” Gallagher admitted afterwards. “We were well off the pace. They’re a very smart, slick team. They were pulling defenders out, leaving space in behind. We watched video clips of them, but that’s one thing - trying to deal with it is another.”

Naomh Columba’s first-half performance was clinical, their movement and running power stretching Malin all over the pitch. The South West men led 1-9 to 0-4 at the break, and although Malin regrouped and showed some fight in the second half, they couldn’t claw their way back into real contention.

“They pushed up, pulled us out of shape and it was just very hard to defend against,” Gallagher reflected. “We got caught on the breaks, but that’s the game Naomh Columba play. They’re a very hard-running team and you need to be switched on all the time.

“We just didn’t seem to have the energy in our legs, and even with that wind behind us in the second half, we couldn’t push on.”

A chaotic spell in the second half - during which Naomh Columba had a man sin-binned - offered a glimmer of hope, but Malin couldn’t capitalise.

“We were eight down at half-time and lost by eight as well,” Gallagher said. “We couldn’t have a tit-for-tat second half where we’d score and they’d score. We needed to put serious pressure on them - on their kickouts especially. I don’t know what the stats were, but I’d say they won 80 percent of their own kickouts. Even on ours, they won a lot of breaks. They just worked very hard for them.”

Malin goalkeeper Daniel Mullarkey saw red late on after conceding a penalty - an incident Gallagher admitted he didn’t get a clear view of.

“There were so many bodies between me and it, I couldn’t see what happened,” he said. “It didn’t help us, but the game was nearly gone for us at that stage. We got a wee bit of a return when we pumped the ball in at the end, but there’s only so much of that you can rely on - you need the right ball in, and for it to break kindly.”

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Despite the disappointment of defeat, Gallagher was quick to remind his young side of how far they’ve come in such a short time.

“I said to the team inside the dressing room that, in a week or two, when they reflect on what we did this year, they’ll appreciate what we achieved,” he said. “No one gave us a chance of getting anywhere near an Intermediate final this year. For those young lads to have got there, they’ll realise themselves there’s a team to build on.”

Malin’s journey this season has been remarkable. Few expected them to emerge from a fiercely competitive group, let alone reach the county final. Gallagher drew comparisons with Naomh Columba’s persistence - three finals in four years before finally lifting the cup - and suggested that Malin’s own breakthrough might not be far away.

“Glen have been knocking on the door. For us, it’s our second final in three years. Cloughaneely, too, took a few finals before they got over the winning line. I don’t think we’re far away,” he said. “But it’s a really tough championship to win. If we’d lost the last group game against Bundoran, we’d have been in the relegation play-offs. You just need to be hitting your marks every game.”

Looking ahead, Gallagher hopes this campaign can spark something lasting within the squad.

“A wee bit of hurt shouldn’t be the answer, but it does seem to help teams to give them the drive to come back and try to win it,” he said. “Given where we’ve got this year, and the buzz around the club, hopefully more lads will want to step up and be part of it. That can only be good.”

With Division Two football to look forward to next season, the challenge now is to strengthen depth and push standards even higher.

“We’re playing in Division 2 next year, and we need to use that to bleed in players and make sure that when we get to this stage, we have as strong a squad as possible,” Gallagher added. “It’ll put everyone under pressure if they think there’s a man behind him coming to take his spot.”

He paused before finishing on a note of perspective.

“I’ve been here with the 21s and the minors, and it’s never easy talking in that changing room after a final defeat, saying the same old thing,” he said. “But if they can take a bit of hurt from it, and know they’re not far away, we’ll be alright.”

Maybe this December, when Gallagher meets with his players and lays out his targets for 2026, this time they’ll believe him when he talks about winning the Intermediate championship.