Sophie McFeely hopes Division 2 win can give Donegal ladies a boost for Ulster

Donegal defender Sophie McFeely is hoping that their Division 2 title triumph can help set the tone for the side as they enter the Ulster Championship.

James Daly’s side returned to Division 1 at the third time of asking after coming second in the league, earning them a spot in the final against table toppers Cavan.

And they took a solid win by 2-7 to 0-8 against the Breffni side in St Tiernach’s Park to give them a first taste of silverware for four years.

The foundations of that came in the first half as they battled a strong breeze, but only trailed by 0-4 to 0-2, as they defended bravely.

“It was tough out there in the first half against the wind, we were trying our best to keep them out,” the St Eunan’s defender told DonegalLive after the game.

“We knew they’d take the shots from distance, but we were just more concerned about stopping them from getting goals because we knew we’d have that wind advantage in the second half.”

That laid the foundations for them to kick on after the restart, and goals from Mia Bennett and Katie Dowds gave them a nice lead to defend.

And as a defender, McFeely was part of a strong unit that prevented Cavan from getting any proper sights at goal in the final minutes as they needed a green flag to bring them back into contention.

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“In that second half, we picked it up and our forwards took the right shots, and when we got the two goals, it’s big for us at the back.

“It’s unreal to have those girls up front. You can rely on them, and you know they’re going to get something, you just have to be patient, but they always do pull through for us, and we’re very thankful for that.

“It’s nice to know you have that cushion and all about keeping out the goals, and I think we were even stronger defensively in that second half.”

Having lost to Cavan in the league in Ballyshannon by 1-6 to 0-7, they knew a better performance was needed, and McFeely admitted they had learned lessons from that defeat.

“It was great to win, especially as the underdogs. They beat us in the league, and we were disappointed after that, but we knew we had to work hard to win.

“We looked in training at where we went wrong that day in Ballyshannon, and that worked out there, so we’re glad to get over the line and get the title.”

And while they were in celebration mode on Saturday, it’s now less than two weeks until they travel to Armagh for the first round of their Ulster round-robin.

Donegal take on the Ulster champions on April 26, before hosting All-Ireland Intermediate Champions Tyrone the week after.

“It’s nice to win this, and it will definitely give us a boost because we’ve shown we can compete.

“We’ll be getting back to it and working very hard over the next few weeks in training before Ulster, it’s not too far away, but we’ll prepare well for it.”