Gary Wilson: 'Gaoth Dobhair are further down the road - but we’ll get there'

Disappointment of course but for MacCumhaill’s 2023 has been a progressive year with plenty to build upon.

Their young side went down 3-9 to 0-11 against Gaoth Dobhair in Letterkenny and as clichéed as it sounds, goals win games and that’s why there’s a final spot for the Magheragallon team.

Gary Wilson, the MacCumhaill’s trainer, lamented the concession of those three goals as each of them - an Odhrán Mac Niallais penalty followed by second-half finishes by Ethan Harkin and Stephen Donna McFadden - left his side chasing.

“The goals were the killer,” Wilson said. “Gaoth Dobhair hurt us in that first seven or eight minutes when they scored 1-2 and we were always chasing that. Every time we seemed to get back into it they just went up the other end and got another one. Their runners from deep caused us problems and this Gaoth Dobhair team were Ulster champions five years ago and they’re still an incredible team. The experience they have is huge and they just produce players all of the time.”

MacCumhaill’s will take stock following their first Donegal semi-final appearance since 2018 - when they also lost out to Gaoth Dobhair - and Wilson is of the opinion the wheels are going in the right direction.

Goath Dobhair defeat MacCumhaill's for first Donegal SFC final spot in four years

Oisin Gallen kicked 10 points for MacCumhaill's as they aimed for a Donegal SFC final place but Gaoth Dobhair had plenty of scoring threats and kept the Twin Towns side at arm's length

“For us now it’s time to reflect,” he said “The semi-final was the target and we’ve five 17-year-olds in there, dealing with the crowd, the big moments, the mammies and daddies. Gaoth Dobhair has so many players who are physically developed and they’re further down the road. But we’ll get there. I still believe there’s a senior championship in this group of players. Maybe it was a bit optimistic to think that this year with such young players.”

Although on the losing side, Oisin Gallen’s performance was the one most people were talking about as they left O’Donnell Park. The MacCumhaill’s forward kicked 10 points for his team.

“Oisin’s best trait is the way he’s coachable and if you asked him to play wing-back, he would play wing-back,” Wilson added. “Michael Murphy would have done the same and did whatever he had to for the team. For Donegal as a whole, it’s exciting.”