Stuart McFadden so proud of his Abbey VS boys after MacRory win over St Colman’s

There was a tense finish to the MacRory Cup quarter-final between Abbey VS, Donegal Town and St Colman’s, Newry with some pushing and shoving but the Donegal Town school came out on top to reach the last four.

There was plenty of noise from the supporters at the Donegal Training Centre in Convoy and Abbey VS manager, Stuart McFadden, had a smile as broad as the Atlantic ocean as he led his charges back to the dressing room, getting congratulations from those supporters and family members.

“Emotions were high and anything can happen,  everybody wants to win a game of football, especially when it’s do or die football. But look, we’re happy coming out the right end of that. We have put great effort into this game; we have put great effort into this team this year and it’s nothing that they don’t deserve as a bunch of boys.

“It’s unbelievable to say that the school, in their first year, have made a MacRory Cup semi-final. We’ll knuckle down to training again and prepare for that.”

The confidence of the Abbey VS side was high as they hit the ground running,  scoring four points in the opening quarter and then keeping the Newry side, who have a rich history leading the way in the competition with 19 wins to their name, scoreless for the opening half.

“To be fair I said to the boys at half-time, that 15 minutes of football was probably the best we have played all year. We got some joy out of their kick-outs, we pressed up on them. We worked on that and we got a good few scores on the board.

“After that I always thought we were comfortable. They did have a lot of possession but they weren’t really probing. They had a wee period when they were on top but we came in at half-time and we said as long as we can keep going and have a big half hour and get another couple of scores (we would be okay).

“To be fair Lewis McCaughan made an absolutely fantastic save and they kicked a few wides. We said to them at half-time, could we get a big half hour. But look, Conor McCahill’s goal was the big score. That gave us that bit of breathing room.

Conor McCahill slides home the crucial goal for Abbey VS in their win over St Colman's Picture: Thomas Gallagher

“Obviously, they did come back into it and they got their goal and it was down to a point.  Kevin Muldoon plucked one out of the sky at that time and we got a score and then got a free.

“Look, it’s absolutely brilliant to say that we have made a MacRory Cup semi-final and the boys can enjoy this evening but we will get back out again and prepare for the next game.”

The Gaoth Dobhair native, along with Jamie Brennan, led the side to MacLarnon and Drummond Cup success last year and could be classed as a lucky charm for the Donegal Town school.

“I don’t know,” laughs McFadden. “Look,  there’s very little coaching with them. They are a great bunch of lads, they are mannerly, they come to training and work hard. We train once a week.

“When you look at the squad that others have. St Colman’s had 43 named in their panel and they have seven (mentors) on the line. We have myself and Colm Keown and the 28 boys.  The resources that we don’t have or are not using. It’s testament to them to see what we are getting out of them,” said McFadden, who said the injury picked up by Aidan Quinn was a small tweak of the hamstring and hopefully he will be fit for the next game.

There is a possibility that there could be an all-Donegal final as Donegal South West play Omagh CBS on Sunday next in Healy Park, Omagh and barring repeat pairings in the other side of the draw, Abbey are set to meet the winners of Healy Park contest.

“I will get the chance to see that game and in an ideal world it would be great to see an all-county semi-final. That would be something else. But look, we’re there and we’ll wait and see,” said McFadden.

All hands to the pump as Abbey defend the last gasp free from St Colman's on Sunday Picture: Thomas Gallagher