'Wicklow are Donegal's toughest opponents so far' admits Mickey McCann

High-flying Donegal are back in action this Sunday, chasing a fifth straight NHL Division 3 win when they meet Wicklow in O’Donnell Park.

Following big wins over Tyrone, Fermanagh, Armagh and Louth, they are sitting in top spot in the third tier on eight points, ahead of second-placed Roscommon on score difference. 

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Wicklow currently occupy third place with six points following wins over Fermanagh, Armagh, and Louth. Their one defeat was away to Roscommon.

So it’s very much a case of so far, so good for Donegal and their manager Mickey McCann.

“We are happy where we are at with the four wins from four games," said the Burt native, who is into his tenth season wearing the manager's bib.

“We had a tough test the first day out against Tyrone but we had comfortable wins over Fermanagh, Armagh and Louth.

“We put in our best performance last weekend away to Louth despite being down to 14 players after Danny Cullen was shown a straight red card.

“It was a very harsh decision. He swung back to free himself and the Louth player went down and made it look much worse than it actually was.

“Danny is not that type of player; he is 38 coming 39 and playing a long time and it was the first time he was ever sent off.

“We are appealing it but it is very hard to get cards overturned once they are shown. But we are hopeful given his impeccable record.”

Gerard Gilmore continued his rich vein of form and once again top-scored for Donegal with a personal tally of ten points.

Dungloe clubman and former Limerick All-Ireland U-21 winner Ritchie Ryan scored two of the Donegal goals and also chipped in with a point, while Peter Kelly struck the other Donegal three-pointer and also added three points for the winners.

Declan Coulter and Conor Gartland were the other Donegal scorers in the 3-20 to 1-9 win over Louth.

“Gerard continues to do the business in front of the posts and is playing really well,” added McCann. “Ritchie Ryan has probably been our best player so far. He is in good shape and probably is the fittest he has been since he joined us.

“He is a brilliant target man up front and something we were lacking for years. But all the lads are playing well.

“John Kealy has come in this year and has done well, as have all the lads that have come in and have settled into the team.

“Players like Donal Farrelly and Conor Diver have really stepped up which was important because with the couple of lads that stepped away as well as Steve McBride and Shaun Ward away on a tour of duty with the Irish Defence Forces.”

McCann also confirmed that another of the exciting young prospects, Dan Donnelly from Sean MacCumhaills, is fit again after being sidelined through injury and is in the squad for Sunday’s game.

Gilmore is the leading scorer in the division with a tally of 0-24 from four games. Donegal, in all, have three players in the top ten, with corner forward John Kealy in fifth place with a return of 2-5, while Gilmore’s midfield partner Liam McKinney is in 9th place with a return of 0-9.

However, McCann is well aware that the weekend’s contest with Wicklow is a step up in  class compared to what Donegal have faced to date this term. 

“They pose the toughest test so far, no doubt about that. They’ve lost just one game and that was against Roscommon with Roscommon winning by a point in Hyde Park.

“I’ve watched Wicklow and I believe they are a better team than Roscommon. They are a physically big team. 

“They have a couple of really big men in the forward line so they are going to pose problems for our defence.

“There has been little between ourselves and Wicklow in recent meetings. We’ve both won games between us and though the teams have changed, I expect it to be close again on Sunday.

“We are hoping for home advantage to swing it our way.”

With McCann holding out hope that Danny Cullen’s red card from last weekend will be overturned, Ronan McDermott is available for this weekend’s showdown with the men from the Garden County.

Cullen’s appeal against last Sunday’s red card against Louth is being heard tonight (Thursday).