'Naomh Conaill's know-how and experience will just put them through' - Declan Bonner

The Donegal SFC finally sparks into life at the weekend with the quarter-final meeting of Naomh Conaill and St Eunan's topping the bill.  

This Saturday, the reigning county champions from Glenties will face their biggest threat in the competition and a rival they are all too familiar with.   

And while nobody can call with absolute certainty which way this tie is going to swing, it’s heavily expected that the winner of this clash in MacCumhaill Park will advance as huge favourites to capture the Dr Maguire Cup in three weeks’ time.   

Declan Bonner – who guided Gaoth Dobhair to SFC success back in 2006 – says the draw now opens up a direct route for someone else to reach the last hurdle on county final day.  

“Both teams and the general public will probably be looking at this match as the county final,” he said. 

“A lot of other teams would’ve been delighted when they saw Naomh Conaill and St Eunan’s drawn together because now one of the big guns will be gone by Saturday evening, so it makes for something really exciting.   

“Having said that, there’ll be six other teams vying for that county final position, and I think we’re in a season where no team really fears each other and would back themselves on a given day.”   

And while the 1992 All-Ireland winner feels that all the attention will be fixed towards Naomh Conaill and St Eunan’s game, if the past is anything to go by, it’s not going to be a championship classic despite the hype in the lead-up. 

“Naomh Conaill and St Eunan’s know each other so well at this stage that it’s nothing new to them, it’s just another game,” Bonner admitted.  

“We know both sides will be set up tactically and have players on both sides who have been in the heat of these battles and know what it takes to win them.   

“It probably won’t be the most exciting game, going on past experiences, even though it probably will go down to the wire. 

“But I just think the experience that Naomh Conaill have built over the past decade, and when you look around the team and still see the same players that have carried them for so long, you feel they might just have the edge.” 

Tactically, Bonner feels that St Eunan’s strength comes from the supply of ball delivered from their goalkeeper Shaun Patton and that’s the area the Glenties men will target to stop St Eunan’s. 

“I think what adds to St Eunan’s strength is that they have one of the best goalkeepers out there in Shaun Patton, but unfortunately in these games, you don’t see the best of Shaun due to how tactical the game is. 

“I'd say Naomh Conaill will concede the kickout and drop back to avoid Shaun pinging the ball 80 metres over their heads and catching them on the break.”   

However, despite Eunan’s fast-kicking approach under Barry Meehan this season, Bonner still thinks that the Glenties side are still too well-versed in winning these types of games.  

“Glenties are the best team out there in terms of scoring on the counterattack and building up a number of scorers throughout the field.  

“That’s going to be key, Eunan’s are going to have to find a way to stop that. 

“They did it earlier this season in the championship and stopped Naomh Conaill quite convincingly but I just think it’s going to be a big ask to do it twice.”   

Whatever occurs this weekend between the so-called ‘big two’, when looking at the other three senior fixtures Bonner can’t see past the old guards, with the Na Rossa man believing that the same old script will be followed with the three favourites in Kilcar, Gaoth Dobhair and Glenswilly emerging victorious.   

“We have to show respect to all the other teams too who have a great opportunity to come and cause a major upset now that Naomh Conaill and St Euan’s are drawn together. 

“Apart from their opener against St Eunan’s, you would have to say that Kilcar have hardly put a foot wrong yet, and that first day out, they were missing several players including Ryan McHugh.   

“St Michael’s have been the team that has come in under the radar, but the question is can they do it without Michael Langan?  

“Even without Langan, to get four wins on the bounce while also beating Gaoth Dobhair on their home patch two weeks’ ago, that’s not an easy thing to do and they shouldn’t be a team to dismiss so easily at the same time. 

“No doubt with the presence of Patrick McBrearty up top, St Michael’s will probably set up defensively and stop the long ball into McBrearty, while also stopping those speedy runs from the Kilcar backline.   

“Like the St Eunan’s and Naomh Conaill match, I think it will be a tight affair but I just expect Kilcar to edge it on this occasion.”   

In MacCumhaill Park on Sunday, the question centres around whether Four Masters can once again shock the county and beat Gaoth Dobhair twice inside the space of five weeks.   

“The case with Gaoth Dobhair is that they’ve already been caught twice in this championship season and once was against Four Masters, so they’ll be on high alert. 

“Like the Eunan’s scenario with Naomh Conaill, can Four Masters catch Gaoth Dobhair a second time? I don’t really see it.   

“Now having said that, there has been a great amount of inconsistency with Gaoth Dobhair, mainly because a lot of their senior and experienced players have gone out. 

“And the club has been forced to take in younger talent, so they’re not the same squad as they were years ago which might play to Masters’ favour.   

“Four Masters are definitely a team for the future and have had a great season, but I think with what we saw Gaoth Dobhair do to Sean MacCumhaill’s last week, they still have that fire and know-how to win big championship games and I expect them to do that this weekend.”   

The final draw will see Glenswilly and Dungloe square off in Falcarragh and while Bonner expects Gary McDaid’s men to triumph on the day, he feels if there is to be an upset on the day, it’s the 2022 Intermediate champions Dungloe, who have had a great championship season so far, to cause that upset. 

But that all depends on the form of Michael Murphy who has starred as one of the top players in the championship this season.   

“I think the great aspect about Glenswilly, apart from playing great football, is that they have perhaps Donegal’s best-ever player in Michael Murphy, who is still dominating proceedings on the pitch. 

“I would back them to beat Dungloe, but it won’t be easy. Dungloe are a strong and physical side and were able to bring St Michael’s to the wire.   

“They were unfortunate not to get a result that day, but can they do it in the heat of knockout football? It’ll be close but I’m just edging it towards Glenswilly.”   

The championship has yet to fully spring to life, but with one of the top teams set to be eliminated this weekend, no doubt the rest of the teams will be waiting patiently in the shadows ready to pounce when the time is right.