St Eunan's manager Meehan: 'We feel that we definitely left it behind'

St Eunan’s manager Barry Meehan didn’t mince his words as he described his disappointment following his side’s loss in the Ulster Club SFC.

The Letterkenny team were pipped at the post by Errigal Ciaran at Healy Park, with the Tyrone champions coming from one down in injury time to score three unanswered points and win 0-12 to 0-10.

“We’re gutted,” Meehan said afterwards. “We got one up on 59 minutes and dominated large periods of the second half but just couldn’t get the scores on the board. That was down to the pressure Errigal Ciaran put us under and you have to credit them for that. There was a massive intensity there and we didn’t get the rub of the green. If we had’ve got two or three up we’d have had a great chance to see it out. That would’ve really changed the landscape. There’s regret. We feel that we definitely left it behind.

“We’ll reflect on it now for a bit and get the batteries recharged. There’s no guarantee that you’ll be right back in this arena. Donegal is a minefield and when these opportunities come you have to take them and we didn’t take it. I really believe it’s an opportunity missed. Errigal Ciaran took it and they will be hard to beat.”

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St Eunan’s - after a nervy start and a brilliant Shaun Patton penalty save from Peter Harte - got themselves together thanks to a fine defensive effort with their attack spearheaded by the excellent Shane O’Donnell to lead 0-5 to 0-4 at half-time.

They owned most of the ball in the second half, although there was never more than one point between the sides until Tommy Canavan’s last score in the 64th minute for Errigal Ciaran.

Meehan explained that the St Eunan’s management opted to leave Niall O’Donnell in reserve until the break, with the forward having just returned from holiday following their victory over Dungloe in the Donegal SFC final last month.

“Up until that we were a bit jittery and nervous and after that we got into a flow. We were very happy to lead at half-time. The first 15 minutes, we weren’t on it. Our defence was huge with Aaron Deeney, Conor Morrison and Darragh Mulgrew putting Errigal Ciaran under huge pressure. It was just that wee bit of composure at the end then.

“Niall was away for a couple of weeks there so we felt there probably wasn’t 60 minutes in him,” Meehan said. “We felt it was going to get frantic down the straight and someone like Niall could add a lot of value, which he did. We released him at half-time and went after them.”