'It was a great win but we know we have more to work on' - Odhran Doherty

Despite winning the Man of the Match award last Sunday as well as securing an 11-point victory over Cork in Ballybofey, for Naomh Conaill man Odhran Doherty, it’s all about nullifying the mistakes during the match and building for their battle with Cavan this weekend.  

Speaking after his side’s 1-20 to 2-6 victory over the Rebel County, the half-forward dynamo admits that while it was a satisfying performance – where he scored three points from play – the Donegal side were upset with a number of their mistakes, two of which were punished by Cork with two goals. 

“We grinded it out in the second half, we probably played well enough in the first half, but we gave away a few sloppy scores which was upsetting,” said Doherty. 

“We weren’t that happy going in at half-time just six points up when you take the wind into account, but I thought we controlled the ball well in the second half, we’re happy with the result.” 

With a strong wind playing havoc in abysmal weather in MacCumhaill Park, natural handling errors could be forgiven, however, Donegal used the wind to their advantage nailing some superb scores, majority of which were from long range. 

“I think we used the wind very well in fairness throughout the game. Peadar (Mogan) hit a lovely point, as did Ciaran (Thompson) and a few others. I think what’s important is that we never hit the panic button. 

“There were some great scorers all around. Like you look at Brendan McCole stepped up to shoot, Daire O Baoill knocked over a few too. We all had our shooting boots on today in fairness.” 

Yet despite such a clinical performance, Doherty points to where his side can improve for when they face Raymond Galligan’s Cavan side this Sunday. 

“I think we were upset at half-time, mainly due to the goal. We felt that they cut through us a bit too easily. I suppose defensively, we can always work on things a bit better, but overall, it was brilliant to get the win. 

“Like we started the second half well, but Cork got that bit of encouragement when they caught us out with the second goal. You look at that score, it came from a turnover again, and when you talk about turnovers, it’s something you have to emphasise because you can be badly punished at this level for it. 

“But in general, the win today was huge. We’re happy to get the two points, especially at home. We had the McKenna Cup to focus on over January and it gave a lot of boys a good feel of where we’re at, especially the young lads who have come into the team and the boys who have come back from injury, so hope we keep improving.”