GWEEDORE Celtic are still in the mix for promotion in Division One of the Donegal Junior League but team manager Michael McKelvey admits that they can’t afford slip-ups.
McKelvey’s young team endured a tough start to the season and at one stage, it looked like a relegation battle might have been ahead of them.
They soon found form but haven’t been able to get into a real flow since the Christmas break.
“It’s been very stop-start for us,” McKelvey told the Donegal News.
“We were a week after everyone else starting back and then we went down and beat Swilly.
“We had a week’s break before playing Kerrykeel and the game was called off.
“Then we had another week’s break and we were meant to play last Sunday but obviously all the games were called off after Gary Foy died.
“We hope we can just stay in the mix. I look at the table and we are sixth and we are probably sixth in a six-horse race so I’m not going to get ahead of myself.”
Gweedore travelled to Rab’s Park to face Kerrykeel three weeks ago but that match was abandoned when they were 3-2 down after Ciaran McHugh broke his leg.
McKelvey says he hasn’t received any correspondence on what will happen with the fixture.
“I don’t know what the story is with it to be honest.
“It happened in the last minute of the first half.
“We were 2-0 up and we were going well but then they came back at us hard.
“They were 3-2 up at that stage and then literally with the last kick of the game, the injury came and it was a pity for Ciaran.
“Listen, there was no malice in it with a 50/50 challenge.
“We were very lucky that James Walsh was there. He’s the father of Aodán and Liam and he’s a paramedic so he was a great help as was Cathy Whoriskey from Kerrykeel who is a nurse.
“Everyone in Kerrykeel were great on the day and helped out.
“It will be a long road ahead for him but the type of fella Ciaran is he’s very mentally strong.
“He will just focus in on how to get back. He’s a personal trainer by trade so he will know how to get himself sorted.
“It does leave a void for us because he’s probably been the biggest reason over the last six games for our good form.
“He’s talking about coming to watch the Milford game so hopefully he will be on the sideline and that will give us a bit of motivation.”
McKelvey was a reliable goalkeeper for many years for Gweedore Celtic but he’s content to take on a substitute role this season.
He has given youth its chance and the players have responded superbly.
“We have a very young team.
“Our oldest player apart from McHugh is Colin Ferry and then Joey Gillespie is 24 and everyone else is down below that.
“I think we have been performing very well considering.
“A lot of the boys have come up through the ranks with Willie Beag McBride and Paul McGee and Noel Sweeney.
“They have all been doing a lot of work and you can see that the young boys pick up things fairly quick because they have had good coaching.
“I think it was against Swilly a couple of weeks ago when I was talking to Paul ‘Rua’ (McBride) who was the manager last season and we had only three players from last year in the squad that day.
“It’s a big turnover. My hand was forced and I had to play a lot of the young fellas but you couldn’t do without them now.
“Lorcan Coyle is the goalkeeper and he’s been absolutely brilliant.
“Wee Adam McBride has been amazing. He’s a top quality player.
“Peter Carragher and Noel Freel are all playing as well and they have shown that they can step up to the challenge.
“It’s not easy coming into a senior set-up but they haven’t shied away from it.”
Gweedore Celtic have tough games against Milford United, Castlefin Celtic, and their neighbours Gweedore United coming up so there will be nothing going easy but McKelvey is pleased with how his side have developed over the last few months.
“At the start of the season, we knew we just had to try and hang in.
“It was always going to be hard to get boys in when the gaelic was going well.
“Now in saying that, I didn’t think we would have four defeats from our first five games and we conceded a lot of goals.
“We have left ourselves with no wriggle room at all and there are a lot of good teams in the league.
“Kerrykeel are a very good team, Cappry are strong, Rathmullan have come down and we were disappointed not to get something that day but they are a decent team and Milford are another good team as well.
“We can’t afford any slip-ups if we want to go any further.”
Milford are the visitors to An Screaban this Sunday and McKelvey and his club know all about the Moyle View Park men.
“To be honest, I’m fed up of looking at Milford.
“We have played them in relegation play-offs and promotion play-offs over the last couple of years.
“They are another good side. We played them in Milford around November and we went 3-1 up and they managed to claw themselves back to 3-3 and it could have went either way. They are very dogged but they played some very good football that day and I’m expecting the same again this weekend.
“It doesn’t matter if Milford are going well or not, they are always going to give you a tough game.”
