“Nobody wants to lose a local derby” – Malin manager Paul Gallagher

There’s nothing quite like a local derby to set the pulse racing, and while you have to go all the way back to 2002 for the last competitive match between Malin and Carndonagh - a 0-15 to 1-4 win for the Malin men in Section C of the All County League, if you’re wondering - the rivalry between the near neighbours still burns bright.

After edging Carn by a single point in a tense Inishowen clash on Saturday evening, Malin manager Paul Gallagher cut a calm and satisfied figure as he reflected on a hard-earned Division 2 win.

“Nobody wants to lose a local derby,” Gallagher said. “We weren’t trying to build any hype up, didn’t want to get pulled into the emotion of the day. But it’s hard. Everywhere we went, whether that was in and around Malin or up in Carn, it was all that people were talking about.”

With five Inishowen teams competing in the division this year, Gallagher knows his side won’t be short of local battles - but this one, against Malin’s nearest and oldest rivals, came with extra spice. “Come championship, I know that’ll be a different Carn team. They’re carrying injuries and so are we. But it was just great to get the points.”

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Malin’s defensive organisation proved vital in the first half, with the visitors holding Carn to just three points despite playing into the wind. Gallagher said his side had to adapt quickly after an untidy opening period. “We won the toss, and chose to play against it. We had a right bit of possession, but our shape was very narrow and we were carrying the ball into traffic, making rash decisions, trying to thread the ball and pick out passes that weren’t on. We worked on addressing that at half time, and knew we’d have a bit of a breeze for the second half. And to go at them.”

That paid off. While Carn hit three unanswered points to stretch their lead to four early in the second half, Malin struck back through two well-taken two pointers from Sean O’Neill and Josh Conlon.

“Those two pointers pulled us back into the game, and we got the goal not long after.”

O’Neill’s decisive goal showcased all his game intelligence - following the play, reacting quickest when the ball came back off the upright, and showing real composure to side-step the goalkeeper before slotting home.

Carn’s goal, fisted to the net in the last play of the game, came too late for the home side to try to force a draw. The defeat will leave a bitter aftertaste, but when they reflect on the volume of scoring chances they created they’ll know that their performance, if not their shooting, augurs well for season ahead.

Gallagher was quick to acknowledge the effort from his opponents. “Carn never dropped off, there was great fight in them right until the end and it was just a one point game.”

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Attention now turns to next weekend’s home fixture at Connolly Park, where Red Hugh’s come to town. Promoted from Division 3, Red Hugh’s earned a 1-11 to 0-14 draw on Saturday night against a Buncrana a side, like Malin, who were relegated from Division 1 last season.

Gallagher is already expecting another physical tussle from the Killygordon side. “They’re a good side, physically strong and were semi-finalists in the Intermediate championship last year. It’ll be a different type of challenge next week.”

Injuries and knocks are a concern, with several key men forced off during a tiring second half on the wide expanses of O’Doherty Park.

“We’ve probably got four or five starters who aren’t there at the moment,” he said, referencing the squad that contested last year’s Intermediate championship final. “We’ll be patching up this week. Josh [Conlon] and Sean [O’Neill] came off there tonight, and that’s two game winners for us.”

Salt water therapy in the big Atlantic ice-bath might be as important for those Malin men as anything they do on the training pitch this week.

Malin host Red Hugh’s on Easter Saturday, while Carn are away to Milford the following day.