McCrea happy to see positive buzz around Four Masters but knows there's more to do

Four Masters defender Aaron McCrea has been present on the Donegal Town team for almost a decade now, but rarely has he experienced championship days like the one he had on Sunday.  

Coming in as underdogs, Four Masters were there to show that their promotion from Division 2 might be the start of something positive for the club as they followed it up with a sensational championship victory as they overcame the 2018 Ulster club champions on a 3-9 to 1-7 scoreline.  

Eight of the Four Masters players, including McCrea, who were a part of the victorious team last Sunday were also present the last time Gaoth Dobhair faced the Donegal Town men in Tir Conaill Park in the opening round of the championship in 2020.  

That day the Gaeltacht men came out with a 16-point win.   

A lot seems to have changed in that time, but McCrea is well aware that nothing is one yet and his side are firmly conscious of not getting ahead of themselves early doors.  

“Gaoth Dobhair were obviously favourites coming into the game, as they should be, they got to the league final of Division 1 this season and got to the county final last year,” said McCrea.  

“But in terms of ourselves, we’ve just been confident and growing all year in how we’ve been playing, we know the sort of system we play, and everyone, from one to 25, we all know what we want to do.  

We got a lot of confidence near the end of the league in picking up good results, we beat Milford by a point, we beat Killybegs by a couple of points, and then we beat Buncrana by a point to win the league. I suppose in all those games we probably didn’t play our best but we still came out on the right side of the result.”  

For Four Masters, it was about carrying that league form into the championship and refusing to revert back into their shells when presented with greater opposition.  

“I think against Gaoth Dobhair, we were just going to bring it to them as much as we could. We went a few points up early on and we had a strong wind which helped, but Gaoth Dobhair held the ball for large periods in the first half which showed the quality of them and the quality of their players,” the half-back said.  

“I think the goal from Seanán Carr before half time was a big score which put us a goal up and then in the second half we just kept going and came out of the blocks fast, we kicked two scores and then held Gaoth Dobhair at arms’ length from then on.   

“I suppose our fitness showed that we can compete with the bigger teams and we were able to stick with them for 60 minutes.   

“We ended up winning by eight points, which in the end, was probably a fair reflection on how the game went . . . don’t get me wrong, the game could ‘ve gone the other way just as easily but we got big scores at big moments and then you add that with the big players that came off the bench, that showed the strength in numbers we have too.”  

In footballing terms, the past number of months couldn’t have gone better for McCrea. Residing in Dublin last season, the former county minor decided to transfer and play with Scoil Uí Chonaill in Clontarf for the season after playing his entire career in Donegal Town. 

The resulting effort saw him play a major role in the backline, with the Dublin club winning the Intermediate championship before being eliminated in the Leinster club final last November.  

The start of 2024 saw him move back to Four Masters where he has since picked up a league medal alongside his younger brother Callum in the backline.  

“It’s great being back playing in Donegal. Last year I didn’t plan to play any football but eventually, I got roped into it and it ended up being a great season in Dublin,” he said.  

“I think with the strides that were made last season in Four Masters along with my brothers Callum, Josh, and Jamie playing senior football too, there wasn’t too much of a question that I was going to come back and play, and look, it helps an awful lot when you’re winning.  

“Winning Division 2 was a great boost. We obviously struggled in that division over the years and we were also down further the past number of years. They were dark days that a lot of these boys were a part of and had to soldier through, so it was great winning Division 2.   

“You don’t want to sound cliché, but winning Division 2 is a distant memory at this stage. We were focused on Gaoth Dobhair from the first training after that league final and now we’re moving on to Downings.  

“It was a great win but two points isn’t really going to get you anywhere, we have three more games to play.”