By Matthew Wilson
Donegal’s Kieran Gallagher was pleased following his side’s victory over Kerry at Father Tierney Park in Ballyshannon on Sunday.
In a repeat of last July’s All-Ireland Football Final, Kerry and Donegal went to battle again and this time Jim McGuinness’s side came out on top courtesy of a four-point win on home soil.
Speaking after the match, Kieran Gallagher discussed that the win was brilliant but feels that there’s things they can still work on and improve.
“It’s nice to get the win. It was good conditions but I think there’s still plenty to work on. That wasn’t a full strength Kerry team and we’re very aware of that, we just need to be better
“In the second half we could’ve put the game to bed and we let them back into it so there’s definitely still stuff to work on. We’re not going to get too far ahead of ourselves, it’s very early in the year.”
Helped by a number of Sean O’Shea two-pointers, Jack O’Connor’s side battled back in the second half to make Donegal work for the two league points.
However, the reigning Ulster champions managed to see out their lead to secure the win, with Gallagher expressing that the quality they were able to spring off the bench was important.
“100 percent, when Ryan McHugh, Murphy and some of them younger players are coming in then it shows great depth. As I said, it’s a work in progress for the year. We’re not going to get too carried away ourselves but it was a nice day out.”
Following an impressive Club Championship campaign last term, the Naomh Conaill midfielder has been added to the Donegal squad for 2026 and he’s performing well in the green and gold jersey.
Gallagher was introduced off the bench last weekend at Croke Park and he was thrown in from the start on Sunday, helping his side to secure some vital possession around the middle third.
The Glenties native stated that he’s enjoying the exposure to the intercounty scene that he’s receiving so far.
“100 percent, it was just good to get the exposure. I know I’m a bit older than most boys are when they’re breaking into a team so it’s just good to get some minutes into the legs.
“I’m probably a bit behind everybody conditioning wise. It’s a long year so I’ll take it step by step and keep improving every day, that’s the main thing.”
With a break in the Allianz Football League action next weekend, Donegal’s next outing will be against Mayo in Letterkenny in two weeks time.
Andy Moran’s outfit enjoyed a great win over Dublin on Sunday afternoon and they’ll provide a stern test at O’Donnell Park.
The Donegal midfielder stated that they will now regroup, recover and take to the training field in preparation for the meeting with the McHale Park residents.
“It’s about a bit of recovery. Mayo had a very big win there against Dublin so as I said, there’s plenty to work on, we’ll do our bit of analysis of this game and get back to training.”
