Stephen McConnell looking to end season on a high with Cup glory

Letterkenny Rovers manager Stephen McConnell believes he and his side can take the hurt of losing the Brian McCormick final last year and use it as motivation to drive them to victory this weekend.  

The Letterkenny side will face off against Keadue Rovers this Sunday, with McConnell’s side hoping to add another piece of silverware this season to the club after winning the First Division league title last month, finishing eight points ahead of second-placed side Bonagee United.  

And while the Letterkenny boss was more than thrilled with his side this year, with Letterkenny Rovers having only lost one league game all season, he feels winning the cup final will add extra might and drive for the team next year.  

“I know we won the league too earlier this year, but to win another trophy would be massive. We lost this final last season, but we have a stronger side this season and we know it’s going to be a great match between ourselves and Keadue this weekend,” McConnell said.  

“I think winning this cup on Sunday, it’ll give us a great boost for next season and give us something to build on. We know next year we’re up another level in terms of the standard of football and we know it’s going to be tough and there won’t be an awful lot of room for error.”  

However, Letterkenny Rovers know that Sunday’s affair will be far from a walk in the park, with McConnell crediting Keadue as the best team in the Donegal league, with leaders all over the field.  

“I think Keadue, I would have to say that they are the best team in the Donegal League at the minute,” McConnell said. “I know Fanad United won the league and they are also a great team, but Keadue are a really strong side and I think they play some beautiful football.  

“They’re well coached and well drilled, and they probably have three or four players on the pitch that manage the rest of the players, the likes of Martin Ferry and Paul Yank, they just have a great team with experienced players.  

“I watched them last week and I thought they were just outstanding. We played them in a friendly back in October, and it was unbeknownst to us that we’d meet again, but I remember they gave us a really good game that day.”  

For McConnell and his side, he hopes a win on Sunday will bring a close to what has been a long season for his squad.  

“It has been a long season, like last year our season went on for 48 weeks and this year it’s the same, from where we started to where we finished. This year we started pre-season on July 4, because we thought our league would start in August, but it didn’t start until September, so we’ve done a lot of work to get to this point,” he said.  

“This is our 35th game of the season. We had four games in three weeks, three of which went to extra-time, and in that, the Bonagee United and Buncrana games, which both went to extra-time were within four days of each other, so we know we did it the hard way and there will be no better way to end the season than with another trophy.”  

There was heartbreak for Letterkenny Rovers last year when Kilmacrennan Celtic won the Brian McCormick Cup for the first time in their history after they beat McConnell’s team in Ballyare, but the Rovers boss is determined that his side will produce a different outcome this time around.   

“Last season after we lost the Brian McCormick final, and I remember a couple of players and I spoke about bouncing back this season and winning the cup. We just felt after last season that we wanted another go at it and here we are again,” he said.  

“I remember after full time and watching Kilmacrennan getting presented with the trophy, it wasn’t a nice feeling, so we’ll be going into the match full of confidence this weekend, as will Keadue. Cup finals take on a life of their own and I have no doubt it’ll be a good spectacle with two great footballing sides going at it.”