AT 37 years of age, Matty Crossan would have been forgiven for thinking that his days playing in big matches on a national stage had been and gone.
Crossan had a super senior career and starred for Finn Harps as well as Derry City, Limavady United and Coleraine.
He is still going strong at junior level now and has been rock solid at the heart of the defence for Donegal on their way through to the final.
“You kind of wind down as the years go by and there are other commitments but it’s a great bunch of lads and it’s brilliant to get into any semi-final.
“It’s been so long since Donegal have been in a final and the boys are really enjoying the run.
“It’s great for myself to be captain of the team and I’m looking forward to it now.”
Crossan runs four takeaway chip shops in Killea, Derry, Muff and St Johnston so he has plenty going on away from football.
He had played Oscar Traynor football pre-Covid when Raymond Shields was manager, and was persuaded to get involved once again.
“I played the last time but unfortunately we didn’t get as far.
“John Francis and the boys were on to me to see if I could commit and thankfully I was able to.
“There are boys that I played with years ago and it’s good that you have that bit of banter. The senior boys have to try and pull the young boys with us.
“There’s no doubt that some of the younger boys could play at a higher level. The talent is there.
“It’s the same for any young fella now – do they want it enough?
“There are opportunities there because the likes of Harps and Derry are giving youth a chance.”
With the Ulster Senior League no longer operating, the talent at the top end of the Donegal Junior League has increased and that means the representative team should be more of a force in the Oscar Traynor as a result.
“We definitely should be. It’s disappointing to see Intermediate football fold in Donegal.
“You see what the likes of Cockhill and Letterkenny Rovers have been bringing through.
“It’s unfortunate with the way things have gone. For me personally, I think there’s just too many junior teams. You need everyone pulling together but some teams are pulling away and unfortunately it’s the county that suffers then.”
Crossan plays his football for Kildrum and they are now second in the league but have never really ever looked like competing for the Premier Division title.
They have never found that real streak of form that they have needed but it still could be a big finish to the campaign for the Killea man.
“It’s difficult when you’re not pushing for the league but we’re still in the Area Final of the Brian McCormick Cup.
“Unfortunately I haven’t played as many games as I would have liked this year with Kildrum.
“It’s difficult because you always want to play at the highest level that you can.
“We haven’t been able to get momentum with Kildrum but we have it with this team.”
Photo caption
Receive quality journalism wherever you are, on any device. Keep up to date from the comfort of your own home with a digital subscription.
Any time | Any place | Anywhere
SUBSCRIBE TO CURRENT EDITION TODAY
and get access to our archive editions dating back to 2007(CLICK ON THE TITLE BELOW TO SUBSCRIBE)