McGee and McCann looking forward to Conor McGurk Cup final

Donegal are back in the final of the Conor McGurk Cup competition for the third year in-a-row and they will meet Down on Saturday evening next at The Dub with a 4 pm throw-in.

The Tirconaill caman wielders beat Derry in the opening round and Fermanagh on a frosty Wednesday evening last in Brewster Park, Enniskillen, thanks to two late goals from goalscoring supremo Josh Cronnolly McGee in the final 10 minutes.

The competition has been a good warmer-up for Donegal hurlers in recent years and speaking afterwards on Wednesday night, the Donegal manager, Mickey McCann, said he had hoped that McGee’s goals had come earlier in the game to give him a chance to use even more of his panel.

That was something that was mentioned by the goalscorer, McGee, also when speaking after the game.

“There were a lot of good boys on the bench there and it is a matter of getting a look at them before we get into the league. Mickey (McCann) wants to do that

“If we had got the goals a wee bit earlier we might have had the chance to play more freely, but fair play to Fermanagh, they were game right up to the end.”

The big Setanta man was introduced to the action late in the first half after corner-forward Peter Kelly picked up a head injury. And while it took a while, he became a thorn in the side of Fermanagh as the game wore on. His goalscoring exploits are well known at this stage.

“It is easier to go for the net once than to go for over the bar three times,” says McGee, who availed of a mistake from the Fermanagh ‘keeper for the first one.

“I got the chance to get a flick on and the opening to have the shot then.

“The second one, in fairness to Liam (McKinney), he did very well. He did the work for it and I had just had to finish it off and put it in the net.”

McGee is looking forward to the final and the chance for revenge against Down, who Donegal lost to two years ago.

“The competition has been good to us, in fairness. I wasn’t in the panel last year, but I was the year before. We got to the final and got beat by Down and it was a very close game as well. We could have won it that year too.

“But look, we are back in the final now and it’s Down again. We’ll be looking to even it up from two years ago and get one over on them.”

And while the playing surface on Saturday might be a little better than Brewster Park, which had a fairly long grass, McGee wasn’t overly bothered.

“It wasn’t too bad there tonight. The pitch was frozen, but the conditions were okay.”
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MICKEY MCCANN

The Donegal manager, Mickey McCann, is really grateful for these games in the Conor McGurk Cup as he sees them as perfect preparation for the National League and an opening game away to Wicklow.

“The games, good competitive games, are what you want ahead of the opening of the National League. Fermanagh were up for that tonight and it was a good challenge. There wasn’t a lot in it but we pulled away towards the end.

“We’ll be hoping for more of the same on Saturday in the final.

“We have Down now and that will be a step up. But it will be good preparation for our first league game which is away to Wicklow. Down, you would feel, would be a step up from Wicklow but you don’t know what team they will field.”

Down defeated Antrim in a high scoring affair in the other semi-final, also on Wednesday night.

“They hit 3-28 in January on a frosty night so they must have some firepower there. We’ll have to get a bit of homework done to see where them scores came from,” says McCann.

“It is the third final in-a-row. I suppose trying to get friendlies, going to Sligo or Mayo or wherever, when you have games like that there on your doorstep,  you can’t beat it. The more games you get in it, the nearer you get to the National League.

“We are in the final now, and it’s three weeks out from the league and it’s exactly what you need, you know,” said McCann.