O'Hara: Killybegs being favourites is 'something we are not used to'

It’s onwards and upwards for Antoine O’Hara’s Killybegs who are now sitting on four points from three outings in the Donegal SFC, ahead of Sunday’s trip to Cloughaneely.

And while his side had a misfiring first half-hitting six wides in Saturday’s victory over Milford, O’Hara says this team needs to be pushing for higher things.  He was much happier with the second half performance that ended with a pretty convincing win on a score of 1-13 to 0-7. 

“We were expecting a battle from Milford and that is what we got in the first half,” O’Hara said. “They are not a bad team, and their last two defeats were to pretty tough opposition. We had the favourites tag, something we are not used to. A few tactical changes at half-time helped us to get better.

“We brought Hugh McFadden out to midfield, and we put Jack McSharry inside as we thought we needed a wee bit more energy in there. Hugh was winning ball in the middle and Jack had a brilliant second half- he needed that for his confidence. 

“He is a confidence player, and he got a few good scores there as well as a very good goal and that is a positive for us for next week”. 

Maguire says Cloughaneely must iron out the creases to preserve SFC status

Cloughaneely and midfielder Martin Maguire have had a couple of tough learning curves over the last fortnight but their destiny is still in their own hands as they welcome Killybegs in the Donegal SFC on Sunday

And O’Hara added that the return of Seamus Óg Byrne is a huge bonus: “We got 60 minutes out of him today and he got a great block in to save a goal and he has mighty pace which helped him get back to make that block. We have missed him in the League, so it is great to have him back for the championship”. 

Killybegs have their destiny in their own hands as they aim for a spot in the last eight, which would be a welcome change from recent seasons where they’ve been finishing their campaigns with the aim of staying in the SFC, just as they did this term in Division 1 of the All-County Football League.

“We have been in a number of relegation play-offs and that is not where we want to be as a group,” O’Hara added.

“We want to be in quarter finals, semi-finals and even contesting finals so we are looking forward to the draw tomorrow to see who we will get. We are on four points now, but I reckon we need six points to be sure of going through to the quarter-finals. You need to be winning your home games and that was very important.

“We were happy with the second half performance but not the first half as we were very cagey and being favourites did not suit us, but that’s football and you just have to live with it”.