Job not done - McCarry expecting tough Oscar Traynor second leg

Donegal Junior League defender Dean McCarry was content as his side came away with a first leg win in Ballyare, but he knows there’s still plenty to play for in the second leg against the Inishowen League.

Donegal led by three at half time in Diamond Park thanks to goals from Shane McNamee, Simon McGlynn and Jonny Robb, but Inishowen came back in the second half to leave a one goal advantage after the first leg.

“You come out after the first half, going in at 3-0 up, and it’s all you could have wanted going into the game,” McCarry said after the match.

“But we did realise that with the two legs, anything could happen, we were only a quarter of the way through it at the break.

“We were obviously over the moon, but we knew Inishowen would come at us, and they will come at us in the second leg, so by no means is the job done.”

On the balance of chances in that first period, Donegal may have had a bit of luck on their side to be three goals up.

With three shots on target, Eamonn Sheridan’s men were in a clinical mood, and they had fewer opportunities than their opponents in the first 45 minutes.

But it was a credit to their attack, while the defence put in some huge blocks, and McCarry felt that their hard work in both attack and defence was what made that advantage count.

“Our work rate was the epitome of why we were 3-0 up in the first half, the boys were getting their bodies on the line.

“As well as that, there were no lost causes in that first half.

“That third goal, where ‘Podge’ (Padraic Gilsenan) chased down their full back to win the ball back, and we got a goal out of nothing. 

“That is kind of what happened in that first half, we got goals from chasing lost causes, and that shows the hunger in the team.”

It was a first start for McCarry as part of the Oscar Traynor side, with the Letterkenny Rovers man making up a back four partnered by Ryan Shields (Kilmacrennan Celtic).

His clubmate Padraic Gilsenan and Keadue Rovers man Brendan McClafferty occupied the full back spots, while Michael Lynch of Kildrum Tigers had a good game between the sticks.

It shows there is a good mix of clubs in the team, although Letterkenny Rovers were best represented with five starters in the aforementioned pair, along with Aidy Delap and scorers McGlynn and McNamee.

“I was involved last year, which was nice to get the shout from Eamonn, but I was only involved before the Mayo game.

“But it’s great to be involved, and it’s where you want to be, playing in these games.

“It is the best of the best in the county, and you’re playing against some of these boys every week, so it’s nice to be on the same side and in a different environment, and the boys are all pulling the same way and wanting to win an All-Ireland, so I’m glad to be involved.”

That Mayo game ended in a defeat in Swilly Park at the quarter-final stage for Donegal, and they went one better the year before in reaching the semi-final, losing out to eventual winners Waterford.

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But there’s an extra incentive this year to make it out of this tie as the winners of Ulster, which would put them straight through to the semi-finals.

“Eamonn had said that it’s a matter of winning three ties to go and possibly win an All-Ireland, and there’s no better year for it.

“But this is the first thing we have our sights set on, this two legged tie, and if we’re lucky enough to get through it in the second leg, then we’ll go from there.”