'Crushed' Barrett admits he thought Lady Luck was on Donegal's side

Luke Barrett, the Donegal manager, said his side carried out their coaching instructions close to perfection only to lose out to Tyrone 4-3 on penalties in the Ulster Minor Championship semi-final.

Donegal had seen a 0-8 to 0-5 evaporate with Tyrone getting on terms to force extra-time and the Red Hands pushed on to then lead 0-13 to 0-8 with just over two minutes to play. Donegal, somehow, got level, with Shane Callaghan pointing, captain Donal Gallagher scoring an injury time goal and then with almost the last kick Cian McMenamin drove a free over to leave it level again, 0-13 for Tyrone, to Donegal’s 1-10. However, it was Tyrone who will contest the final against Derry this Sunday in Clones.

Unbelievable Donegal comeback leads to penalty shoot-out heartbreak

Luke Barrett's side were four points down in tonight's Ulster Minor semi-final and had only scored a point in 35 minutes as extra-time fell into injury time . They somehow pulled it from the fire, only to lose out on penalties

“It’s crushing really,” Barrett said. “I don't know what you can say. We said all week we needed to deliver that 60-minute performance and beyond. From the word go they were really 100 miles an hour and they went at it and executed everything that we asked of them.

"From a coaching perspective that’s all you can ask for. In the heat of battle, things happen and looking back at that game will be hard. I’ll have to. We should’ve seen it out. They’re young, some are 15, 16 and 17 and they’ll learn. Look, it’s all about development.

“They’ve been averaging over 25 points a game and we kept them to 13 after extra-time. At 0-8 to 0-5 up I thought we might see it out. They’re an unreal outfit. We took them to penalties and reached an Ulster final last year. Maybe we’re up there now with the top counties. The one thing we can take from that is belief. Hopefully the platform has been raised there for next year.

“Tyrone battled hard and are a fantastic outfit. We were five down and never gave up and you have to give that to them, to come back. Maybe, we thought, Lady Luck was looking down on us when we scored that late free. We thought then it might be our day. They gave it absolutely everything. I’d have taken an extra period instead of the penalties. For me, it’s not the right way but I’m not going to complain cause that’s the way it is. They’re a lottery, with cramp and that.”