Mission accomplished in terms of survival, Donegal can now look up

Donegal have already secured their NHL Division 2B status after a most valuable away win over Wicklow - their first ever - on Sunday last

And, barring a massive defeat to the coming Sunday’s opponents Derry, it looks like Mickey McCann’s men have also secured a semi-final slot. But that could have its hazard as injury-hit Donegal would be playing week on week right up to the start of the Nickey Rackard Cup.

But manager Mickey McCann was delighted to get the points against Wicklow, and which secured safety after three unbeaten games, following on from wins over London and then Sligo.

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Following their fine win over Derry at Celtic Park in the U-20 Development League, Gary Duffy's Donegal are away to Roscommon this Saturday

But it has come at a considerable cost as ace marksman Ryan will miss the rest of the League through a finger injury and Sunday will probably come too early for Donoghue as well - both were not available for the Wicklow match.

And Jack O’Loughlin (hamstring) and Sean McVeigh (bruised hands) had to go off injured before half-time but had to withstand a strong Wicklow comeback in the second half.

“Wicklow came back well but we lost Sean McVeigh and Jack O’Loughlin to injury in the first half and that was serious as we were already without Declan Coulter, Michael Donoghue and Ritchie Ryan who are all big physical players,” McCann said of the 2-16 to 3-8 win in Aughrim, having been 2-8 to 0-3 in front at the break.

“Sean and Jack were cleaning in the half backline before that, and Jack will definitely miss the Derry match and we are not so sure about Sean, but we will have Declan Coulter back.

“We put on young Oisin Marley and Niall Cleary for the two lads and they did pretty well. But we coughed up two cheap goals through defensive errors in the second half as we just got a wee bit comfortable, and we had nobody to blame but ourselves.

“However, we showed great character to see out the game and we pulled clear in the final five minutes. We had a great first half and could have got another goal and our defence was very good and we held them to just three points. It was as good a half as we played yet and Ronan McDermott and Barney Lafferty got the goals”.

“Luckily Davin Flynn was very clinical again and he got us scores when we needed them most and he is having a very good year. And Daire O’Maoileidigh got a few good scores and I expect a lot more from him. He is a very smart player and has great movement and accuracy”.

“We have achieved our target and we are safe on six points,” McCann said. “Mayo and Wicklow are only on one point, and they have two games left and the most they can get is five points. We are safe, and we are almost in a semi-final slot too.”

“But the downside is that if you get to the League final you have no break going into the Nickey Rackard Cup. So, we will have to make a decision regarding these injuries.”

Now, Donegal can crane their necks and look upwards, with Derry in Letterkenny on Saturday before the last round of regulation fixtures means a trip to Mayo.

“They are the best team in it and are led by Cormac O’Doherty of Slaughtneil and everything goes through him and there are a few McGuigan’s from Slaughtneil as well who are very good players too,” McCann added.

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LyIT defeated UCC in Tuesday night's semi-final

“They are well capable of playing in Division Two A and Down have won their first two games in that division and we ran them so close in the McGurk Cup final, so it is very fine margins.

“They are a big strong team but if we had our big men available, we would be in a better place, but it gives us a chance to look at the younger boys from here on to see how they are shaping up. And if we are in a semi-final then so be it and we will prepare accordingly”.

“The winners of this match with Derry will be straight into the final but we will be still hoping to give Derry a good rattle”.