'I thought we were the better team on the day' - Donegal League boss Eamonn Sheridan

Eamonn Sheridan didn’t mince his words. Disappointed? Absolutely. Frustrated? No doubt.

But most of all, he was left wondering how his Donegal League side had done so much right yet still come out on the wrong side of a 4-2 defeat to the Mayo League in the Oscar Traynor quarter-final.

“We’re very disappointed, especially when you look at the fact that we were 1-0 down at half-time,” Sheridan admitted. “That was a real killer considering that we could’ve scored three goals in the first 45 minutes.”

Donegal were on top from the start, dictating play, carving out chances, and forcing Mayo onto the back foot.

Ryan Cunningham, Eoin Logue, and Johnny Robb all had opportunities, but Mayo goalkeeper Stefan Hester was equal to everything thrown his way.

Then, just before the break, disaster struck. A deflected effort fell kindly to Ben Edeh, who buried the ball in the net to put Mayo in front against the run of play.

“In the first half, we totally dominated the game,” Sheridan said. “And yet, they hit us just before the whistle, and suddenly we’re a goal down," he said.

But we still had another half to sort it out, which I felt we would do, but we just didn’t do enough and the breaks weren’t coming our way.”

The message at half-time was simple — keep going. Sheridan urged his players to stay calm, to believe that the chances would come. And, briefly, they did.

Donegal equalised early in the second half through Robb, but the joy was short-lived as Mayo regained the lead through Oran Groarke.

“We started well in the second half, but in the end, we gave away too many poor goals,” Sheridan reflected. “That’s the way football goes sometimes; it’s just upsetting overall. I thought we were the better team on the day.”

Mayo struck twice more, leaving Donegal chasing the game in the closing stages. Eddie O’Reilly’s scrappy goal gave them hope at 3-2, but in throwing everything forward, they left the door open, and Edeh’s second of the afternoon sealed their fate in injury time.

“The lads huffed and puffed, but it wasn’t to be, and we just have to move on and fight another day,” Sheridan said.

Despite the disappointment, the manager was quick to praise the effort of his players and staff, reflecting on the journey they had taken together this season.

“I think we’ve all enjoyed this experience from the get-go,” he said. “That’s why we’re all disappointed today — because it means so much to us.

"These boys put a lot of effort in this season, they’re a great group, and that includes the backroom team too. It’s all just been a mighty experience.”