Sweeney says it's 'all about keeping the wheels in motion' at St Michael's

St Michael’s go in search of a first win of the All-County Football League Division 1 this Sunday at Aodh Ruadh’s Fr Tierney Park.

The Dunfanaghy-based side picked up a point in awkward conditions last Saturday, drawing 1-4 to 0-7 against Glenswilly at home, following on from their 1-9 to 0-10 loss to MacCumhaill’s at the Bridge on the opening weekend.

Against Glenswilly, there was as much talk about Storm Kathleen as the match itself. Even though the hosts - managed by Cathal Sweeney and Raymond McLaughlin - lost a lead of six points having made the turn, they were very unfortunate not to add to their tally, with Chris McElhinney and Colin McFadden both rattling the crossbar. in the second half.

St Michael’s, in recent years, have been as hit as hard as anyone by emigration, with a large contingent from the club now living away, Brisbane for many. To illustrate that point, when they won the Minor League Division 2 title 10 years ago and Jamie Hunter was the only player from that side who lined out last week.  Even against Glenswilly, Liam Paul Ferry, the club captain, went off injured in the first half and Edward O'Reilly battled on through for the guts of the hour.

But there is a sense of resilience, with the club still routinely appearing in the knock-out rounds of the Donegal SFC and despite the hardships, co-manager Sweeney said they will continue to work with what they have instead of moan about who they could’ve had.

“We have lost a massive players alright but we’re not making any excuses,” he said last weekend. “Hugh O’Donnell, vice-captain last year, and Conan Brennan, who had made his way onto the seniors, both of whom are influential players, are gone from last year. Ruairí Friel, Brian Creed, there’s so many more. We’re down a number of players through injuries and soccer but we’re not going to use that as an excuse.

“We’re a small rural club and losing players has an effect. It’s no secret that we’ve struggled in the last couple of years to bring underage through. But look, we’re more than happy to work with who we have.

“There’s a good core there and they bring something to training every single night. From a management perspective, you can’t ask for much more of them than that. We have the likes of Ethan Ferry and Calvin Murray coming in now and it was maybe a case of in at the deep end but they’re gathering senior action and that will bring them on. You can see the massive work that a club like Glenswilly have done with great numbers coming through.

“It’s all about keeping the wheels in motion and there won’t be anything easy got from Ballyshannon. We’re just looking to build week on week and take it from there. We’ve longer-term injuries like Daniel McLaughlin, ankle, and Carlos O’Reilly, who has a knee injury. We’ve a few more niggles there as well. We’ll work with what we have to work with.”

Of the share of the spoils against Glenswilly, Sweeney wasn’t overly disappointed, with his team showing plenty of spirit and coming within a whisker of a goal against the wind, on a couple of occasions. 

“It was a game of two halves,” he said. “We felt at half-time we might’ve left a few scores behind us but we were happy with the work level and effort that the boys had put in. Overall we knew that going out in the second half we would have to dig deep and that they were going to put a big squeeze on us. That’s exactly what they did.

“Everyone stood up in the second half and it can be hard to get out here when there is such a stiff breeze. We had our chances for goals. Even a point might’ve done. Overall, we’ll take the positives. We’re happy enough with the point. There was a lot of improvement from the week."