BY STUART CONNOLLY
On November 23, in the first-leg of the Oscar Traynor game, the Donegal League emerged with a narrow win against Inishowen at the Diamond Park in Ballyare.
Goals in that game from Shane McNamee, Simon McGlynn and Jonathan Robb had the hosts in a very comfortable position, but that lead had a chunk taken out of it in the second half, as Cockhill Celtic duo Jay Bradley and Peter Doherty found the net.
Maginn Park in Buncrana will host an eagerly anticipated second leg this Saturday, and Letterkenny Rovers defender Padraic Gilsenan is looking forward to a cracking match, even if it unsettles the nerves a bit.
“We might do it for the fans(another 3-2 scoreline), keep them going until the end,” he joked.
“If all goes well, it’ll be another great game, it should be an enjoyable day out, and hopefully we’ll get the business done.
“We are confident going into this game, and with a busy week ahead, hopefully we’ll put our name in the hat for the next round.”
At the half-time break a few weeks ago, the Donegal League held a three-goal cushion, but Gilsenan knew that there would be no guarantees going into the weekend, even if they had maintained that.
“There was never going to be a situation where this second-leg wasn’t going to be crucial,” he started.
“We never thought for a second that we had one foot in the next round, even with the advantage.
“We were obviously disappointed that we hadn’t put a few more away during the second half, and I do think the weather played a part in that game, but we got the win in the end.”
The Inishowen League side is littered with top class players and some very familiar faces, and it was that quality that helped reduce the deficit to just one. Gilsenan knew what to expect ahead of the first leg and he’s expecting the same again at Maginn Park.
“We know what those Inishowen sides have done the past few years, so when they join together, they’d always be difficult to beat,” he said.
“They’re a very good side and we really weren’t expecting anything else.
“Playing against sides of that quality, you always know that they are capable of bouncing back, and we all saw that in the first game, and that has set it up to be a cracking game.
