Gavin Mulreany enjoying going in at the deep end

Gavin Mulreany says he’s enjoyed the last fortnight of action between the posts for Donegal in the absence of Shaun Patton.

The St Naul’s man featured in the side’s McKenna Cup loss to Derry in Omagh and, at the weekend, played his part as Jim McGuinness’ team got off the mark in the NFL with an impressive 1-20 to 2-6 win over Cork in Ballybofey.   

Patton was serving a one-match suspension on Sunday following his dismissal against Tyrone in the All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final last June, a sanction that followed into this year’s league season. 

With that, it meant former Finn Harps man Mulreany had to step up to the mark, making his league debut in the win over the Rebels. 

“Listen, I’m over the moon that I was given my chance to play,” Mulreany said immediately following his side’s victory.  

“We know Shaun got suspended last year, so it was nice to get a chance and try and do the best that I could. I want to see more game time obviously but we’ll just have to wait and see. 

“But Shaun and I have a great relationship, we look out for one another. And I’ll do my best to push him, which is what you need in a team.

“Like I said, we both get on really well, he’s a top goalkeeper, one of the best in the country.” 

Reflecting on Donegal’s impressive start last time out at MacCumhaill Park, Mulreany said Donegal were satisfied with their performance and how they broke away from Cork in the second half. 

But he admits that conceding two goals to what were, in the cold light of day, fundamental mistakes, it’s something Donegal will need to look at ahead of their trip to Cavan. 

“Yeah, we’re very happy with the win, it’s good to get off to a winning start in the league and for me, it was nice to be playing,” the 25-year-old said. 

“We were expecting a very good game from Cork and that’s exactly what we got. To be able to match them and get the number of scores we did get was brilliant. We were very happy that we pushed away at the end, hopefully we can push on now. 

“I think as a team, we’re building something strong, slowly but surely. We knew we had to get off to a good start playing with the wind and thankfully that’s what we did, with Odhran (Doherty), Jamie (Brennan) and Patrick (McBrearty) all getting brilliant scores early on. 

“We knew we gave away two really sloppy goals in the game, that’s something we’re going to have to work on, but overall, it was a good day. 

“We were very good defensively throughout and we were probably better going forward. Look, I go back to the goal, that was our own fault, it was sloppy from us to get caught out like that on both occasions, but we’ll move on from it.” 

For Jim McGuinness and his squad all their attention now turns to Cavan away this Sunday, with both teams hoping to maintain their one hundred percent record.  

With Mulreany focusing on his own game and trying to hold his starting position with Patton now back in the mix, he admits nothing will be easy for his side when they face the Breffni team that broke Donegal hearts when they upset the odds against Declan Bonner’s team in that forgettable 2020 Ulster final. 

“We know you’re always going to get something tough when you’re playing against another Ulster team. Cavan have come up from Division 3 and are wanting to make their presence felt. We know there’s been a few hard battles with them over the years. Some good and some bad.  

“But right now, we’re just focusing on ourselves, every game this season is going to be tough, we’ll just focus on our own game and let everyone else worry about Cavan.” 

Last Sunday’s league encounter with Cork was also noteworthy for the fact Mulreany was partnered on the field alongside fellow St Naul’s teammates Peadar Mogan and Brendan McCole – the first time three St Naul’s men have ever graced the Donegal starting XV at the one time. 

“Yeah, it’s great to be playing with both Peadar and Brendan, two lads I grew up with and have been playing sport with all my life. It’s mad to think there’s three St Naul’s men on the one Donegal team, we’re here to take over now”.