Glenswilly looking for redemption as they eye U-21 glory this weekend

There was no doubt that there was a massive weight lifted from the shoulders of the Glenswilly U-21 players when they finally got their revenge 11 months after losing the county final to Gaoth Dobhair.  

Having led throughout the final last December, Glenswilly, who were the 2022 U-21 B champions and firm underdogs in that match, coughed up three late points against Gaoth Dobhair to see the men in green and white land a 0-11 to 0-9 win and clinch their second county title in-a-row at that level.  

But the tide turned last Sunday and everyone could feel it. Just one score proved the difference, as the Glen men added a goal to last season’s scoreline to knock the reigning county champions off their pedestal and march towards another U-21 decider.  

While the Glenswilly side knows there’s still a lot to do before they can retire for the season with the U-21 crown in their hands, it wasn’t going to stop the scenes of joy around Milford last Sunday.   

When the going got tough for them, Neil Gallagher’s men prevailed in what was a cracking game of football that could’ve swung either way.  

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“We’re extremely proud of the players,” the Glenswilly boss and former Donegal player told Donegal Live.   

“Last Sunday when we were up against it with 15 minutes to go, I turned to (Gary) Copper McFadden on the sideline and said to him; ‘look, there’s not much we can do playing against that big breeze, we need to just let the players at it’, but thankfully we got a few scores towards the end and it helped us to victory.”  

Another coach would, by that stage, start pressing the panic buttons as Gaoth Dobhair held firm, but Gallagher was determined for his men to figure this puzzle out for themselves.  

Then came Oisin McGrenra’s 47th-minute goal, and before long the wind was back in Glenswilly’s sails  

“It was slightly worrying in the fact that we didn’t score for 17 minutes in the second half,” Gallagher said. “We even got another goal chance late on but the goalkeeper pulled off a great save, but having said that, you have to understand that we were playing against a really strong breeze and that had a big factor, even in areas like our kickouts.  

“But in fairness, Gaoth Dobhair had a couple of shots, and on another day, they could’ve gone over and brought us to extra-time, but I’m very proud of the effort our lads have put in. They’re all so hungry to win and play football, so we just let them at it.”  

The level of trust from the men on the sideline has worked wonders with one defeat to Aodh Ruadh Ballyshannon in their second group game being their only downfall on course to the final.   

It may even bring a level of comfort knowing that their opponents this weekend is a Four Masters team that has been dominating the underage ranks in recent times, but a team that this very Glenswilly side got the better of last October in the early stages of the championship.  

However, Gallagher is quick to debunk that that match gives them any sort of edge.  

“It’s going to be a tough final obviously,” he said. “Four Masters won their semi-final quite convincingly and we know how tough they are.   

“We played them earlier in the championship and beat them, although they were missing their two best players in Seanán and Turlough Carr, so we know there won’t be much in it.   

“I wouldn’t read too much into our win over Four Masters last month because as I said, they were missing Seanán Carr and I think the following week he went out and kicked 2-8 or something like that, so Four Masters will be out for revenge and I don’t think there will be much in it.”  

Glenswilly also has the added incentive of righting some wrongs from last season and taking the lessons from last year’s December disappointment into this weekend, but Gallagher is quick to bring everything into perspective, citing a new team, with the overall focus centred around the development of underage players.  

With the greater goal of the club focused on making these young players top footballers for Glenswilly’s senior team in the future, there’s no wonder that the two teams competing in Sunday’s final are the two teams who have invested so much in youth development over the last number of years.   

“We lost the final last year. We were going okay until the last five or 10 minutes of that final until we gave away three points, and the same could’ve even happened against Gaoth Dobhair on Sunday too, but thankfully we held on,” he said.  

“I can’t speak for Four Masters but every year they’re winning underage championships from U-14 level up to minor level, so we know they have a solid foundation in the club.   

“I suppose for ourselves we’ve been trying over the past few years to develop these lads into senior players and if we can have a bit of success along the way, then that would be great.  

“The end goal for us is that we want all our players on the U-21 team to turn into good senior players for Glenswilly.   

“I read a stat recently that Naomh Conaill played in eight U-21 finals in-a-row and that success was then drafted into their senior team, and it showed considering what they’ve been doing for over a decade now.  

“So, for us, it’s trying to emulate that to a degree. As we know, clubs get a lot of young players who go to college, move away, and eventually, they just filter out. So, we want to develop those players and try to keep them in the club as senior players.”  

The development journey for Glenswilly so far has been unbelievable, they now hope to put the cherry on top of the cake this Sunday.