TODAY’S Intermediate semi-final sees the last two runners-up of the championship go head-to-head and Naomh Columba’s Lanty Molloy feels there won’t be much to split the sides.
Naomh Columba made the final in 2022 and were defeated by Dungloe, while their opponents today are Malin who were denied by Downings last year.
Both finals were played in O’Donnell Park and that’s the venue for this Sunday’s last four match and Molloy feels his side have changed since then.
“The last time we were in the final we had a different team and a lot of boys were missing or injured since so we’re a bit more of a younger team now.
“Malin would have more experience of it than us after getting to the final last year and they’ve been in Division 1 for a couple of years.
“We’ve been around the Intermediate for a long time but we’ve only been to the one final so you could call us experienced but there are a lot of semi-final and quarter-final losses.
“It’s impossible to call these games because it could go either way so we’ll see how it goes.
“We played them twice this year too and we were lucky both games were at home, the journey is a massive factor in the game so I wouldn’t look too much into those games, it’ll be a lot tougher in a neutral venue.
“They were already safe when we played them in the league and there was only a point in it in the championship match.”
The Glen men have impressed in the campaign so far and finished fourth after acquiring three wins against Malin, Bundoran and Burt while they were well beaten by Termon.
That saw them get a rematch with Bundoran and it was a closer game this time but Naomh Columba still came away with a 3-6 to 1-7 win to reach the final four.
“The goals did make the difference but it was a tough enough game,” Molloy added.
“They had a lot of possession. They’re dangerous and they defended well but we kept them out and took our chances when we got them.
“It was the third time we played them and it was always going to be tougher this time but both teams were missing players.
“We beat them comfortably in Glen but it was a lot tougher when it comes to a knock-out championship game, no matter who you play it was never going to be easy.”
The Páirc na nGael side are without Ryan Gillespie this year and were hit bad with injuries during their league campaign as they were relegated from Division 1 but there were some promising signs as county minor Shane Callaghan impressed as he made the step up to senior football.
And they have kicked on in the championship after getting county pair Aaron and Phillip Doherty back.
“We were missing the two county men through that league and for a club like us to be missing them, it’s hard.
“But we’ve had a few injuries the last few weeks and Phillip Doherty got injured against Bundoran which isn’t looking good, hopefully he’ll be alright.
“Him, Pauric Ward and Kevin McNern are all touch and go and when you’re a small club you need everyone fit and firing.
“Shane is a brilliant player and he’s added to it (the scoring power).
“Malin would be similar in that they have a good spread of scorers but every team has to be like that now because you can’t rely on one person any more with how teams defend.
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