Tony Boyle: 'Dungloe must be at their best to overcome Ulster challenge'

Tony Boyle believes his Dungloe side will have to be at their best this Sunday when they welcome Cavan side Mullahoran for their first round of the Ulster LGFA Intermediate championship. 

The Rosses club are still on a high after coming from seven points down in the Donegal intermediate final last month to beat Ardara on a 1-8 to 0-9 point scoreline. 

But after a month of preparation, Boyle’s side are ready to step back into the Ulster arena having been there last season at junior level, only to lose out by a point in the final. 

For Dungloe, they are under no illusions that this weekend’s encounter is going to force them to be at their very best. 

“We know it’s going to be a big step up to Ulster football at this level, but thankfully we had the experience of Ulster junior football last season and we were unfortunate to lose out by a point in the final, but this weekend we’re under no illusion that this is going to be a whole new challenge for us,” Boyle told Donegal Live. 

READ NEXT: Mac’s View: Rumours abound but Michael Murphy still has plenty to offer Donegal

Focusing on the Cavan champions, the All-Ireland winner from 1992 said they are a team with talent all around the field and is well aware of their scoring threat after Mullahoran racked up 8-15 in the Ulster preliminary round against the Armagh intermediate winners. 

It also adds double stress knowing that Dungloe will be entering into this encounter without the leadership of their captain Sara O'Boyle who has since moved to Australia, but it's something that Boyle admits they will have to live without.

“We went down to watch Mullahoran last week against the Armagh champions and they were a very impressive outfit,” Boyle said. “Any side that posts a score of 8-15 in an Ulster championship match wouldn’t look out of place playing senior football in Donegal. 

“But we’re happy where we’re at. We have home advantage, there’s a good buzz about the club, and the girls get another taste of playing in Ulster, so it’s great for us, but we know it’s going to be a difficult task. 

“Mullahoran will 100pc be favourites going into this game. They have Aishling Sheridan who is one of the top Cavan forwards who played in Australia for two years, so she’s back this year from playing Australia Rules and she and her two sisters will be very tough to watch. 

“Mullahoran are very strong all around the pitch and as I said, to post 8-15 just shows you the calibre of players they have.” 

Looking back on last month’s county final win, Boyle issued great praise to Ardara, who dominated the early stages of the game, putting Dungloe under serious pressure in their backline and forcing them into making mistakes and making their opponents cough up possession.  

But in the second half, Dungloe would eventually find their purple patch, with substitute and U-16 player Mia O’Donnell firing it over the head of the Ardara goalkeeper into the roof of the net for the opening goal of the game that proved to be the difference, with the Rosses side keeping Ardara scoreless for the entirety of the second half. 

“In the county final Ardara gave us a real tight battle on the day, and only for we brought in a few younger players off the bench, it turned the game in our favour and just about got us over the line,” Boyle admitted, crediting his side’s never-say-die attitude. 

“We can’t fault the effort from our girls and they have won a lot of tight games and have had a lot of success, but being realistic, while we did well in Junior last season and probably should’ve won Ulster, this season we don’t know what the step up will be at Ulster intermediate level, but we know it will be tough. 

“All we know is that Mullahoran would fit right in at senior level in Donegal and we’ll just have to deal with that.”