‘We learned from the last few years’ - Naomh Columba’s Aaron Doherty

“We’re over the moon. Three years ago and last year we didn’t put in the performance and we knew coming back this year we couldn’t let that happen again. And thank God we put on a show there today,” was the immediate reaction of Naomh Columba’s Aaron Doherty after he helped his side lift a first Intermediate Championship on Sunday against Malin.

After losing two finals in recent years, it was one that the men from Glen didn’t want to lose this time around.

“I suppose we learned from the last few years. Going into the game, we said look, it’s just another game. We probably got a bit too psyched up in other years and we had no energy then on the pitch. We treated it as just another game and we tried to get a good start. Thankfully we got in at half-time with a lead and kept ticking over in the second half.”

Even when they went down to 14 men with Steven Callaghan black carded, Naomh Columba were able to perform well and get scores. 

“We knew that we could get up into the other half and get hands on the ball we’re just as good as anyone in the county.

“To be fair we worked a lot (on maintaining focus). In other years we would be six points up and let it slip. But we made sure this wasn’t going to happen this year.”

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The Naomh Columba boys can now look forward to playing in Ulster and it has been a long time since that happened back in 1990 when the seniors won the county title.

“All we know is that we are playing the Monaghan champions and I think it’s up in Clones. All these boys, it’s a big pitch in Clones and you see the county teams out there year after year. It’ll be a  big day for us.

“Donegal clubs haven’t put their best foot forward in Ulster in Intermediate in years gone by but we will give it our best shot.”

But it is getting back to senior level in Donegal which is the great reward for this team because the Naomh Columba club had a great senior tradition from the 1970s onwards.

“That’s what we have been aiming for since I came in. For the last 10 years, we just finally got up to the senior championship. To see what a team we really are, to mix it with the best. Look, we are up there now and we will give it what we have.”

For Doherty personally, winning a county title with his own club is so pleasing.

“To me this is unbelievable. Boys you are growing up playing football with since you were five or six years. It just hits home, to be honest. Look to be fair, we stuck at it year after year. The boys kept coming back. It would have been easy to pack it in and say I’m emigrating. But no, every man came back and we got a few extra men back this year. 

“I’d say we had nearly everyone. Barry Carr, who has been a stalwart for the last 15 years. He moved away to Dublin but apart from him we had everyone else.

“Every player on the panel was injury free today and we had them togged and that’s massive. When you know the man coming on is picking up the game rather than letting the show down,” said Doherty.