Gavin McBride praises the impact of Gaoth Dobhair's young guns

Gavin McBride paid tribute to Gaoth Dobhair’s young guns following their win over Glenfin in the Donegal SFC on Saturday evening.

Gaoth Dobhair lost out at Pairc Taobhoige in April on a 0-13 to 0-7 in the All-County Football League Division 1 at a stage in the season when they were trying to stitch things together and have certainly improved since then, with their young panel members forced to the forefront.

Minus hugely important players for various reasons like Odhrán McFadden Ferry, Niall Friel, Odhrán Mac Niallais, Eamonn Collum and Daire Ó Baoill to name a few, it was the youngsters who stood out in Glenfin in a 1-8 to 1-7 victory, which moves the Magheragallon side onto four points having disposed of Ardara on weekend one.

“We knew coming here that we weren’t going to get anything easy,” McBride said afterwards. “Glenfin beat us here in the league well and they’ve a good team. We knew what they were all about. So it’s a big one for us coming away from here with the two points and a few of the young boys especially stood up for us there.

Gaoth Dobhair's bounce continues with victory at Glenfin in Donegal SFC

Trevor Alcorn's side came through by inches against Glenfin at Pairc Taobhoige to win for the second time in the Donegal SFC, having opened with victory against Ardara

“Look at Ethan Harkin there and Michéal Roarty there, when the chips were down they really stood up. That’s another big learning curve for them today. 

“We've got a few of the injured lads coming back soon. They’ve been out a long time though and we have to remember it’ll take time for them to get up to speed again. At the minute with the way the younger players are playing, it’ll be hard for them to get straight back in.”

Roarty scored a goal from Gaoth Dobhair’s first attack in just 19 seconds and although the contest ebbed and flowed throughout, Harkin’s ability to split the posts six times was key. Four points from their two outings mean Gaoth Dobhair are in touching distance already but with a home fixture to come in round three, McBride believes there is an opportunity to build upon their momentum, which will continue to build confidence.

“The goal so early was great and gave us a platform but both teams there had their spells,” he added. “It’s all about focus week on week. For us it’s just a matter of keeping pushing for next week and keeping this momentum going. We had it tough in the first few league games but we did improve and we’re up and running well enough so far in the championship.

“Once we see the draw we’ll be looking at who we have and then trying to get the two points again. There’s nothing better than winning games.”