BY MATTHEW WILSON
RATHMULLLAN Celtic have made a positive start to their life in Division One but their attention turns to Cup action this weekend where Killian Hagan hopes they can get a result when they travel to Ballybofey United.
Rathmullan Celtic were successful in their last outing, traveling to Gweedore Celtic where they secured a 2-0 win.
It was a good result for the side according to Hagan, with Gweedore Celtic being a difficult place to go and he was pleased to have kept a clean sheet in the process.
“It was a good result to go to Gweedore and get a result against them, they’re a good team.”
“It was a tight enough game to be fair, I’d say they didn’t deserve to get beat as they had a good few chances.”
“It was good to get the result and another clean sheet so hopefully we can keep them going.”
Having been relegated from the Premier Division last term, it’s been a solid start to the new campaign for the Rathmullan men, winning three out of their first four encounters.
Rathmullan Celtic had a season to forget by their own standards last year as they came out on the wrong end of all 18 matches in the top tier.
However, the group stuck together and he is pleased that the side are more competitive in their contests this time out.
“We’re happy enough now, especially after last year as we didn’t know what it would be like. We were just going into this year hoping to be a bit more competitive and seeing how it goes so it’s a good enough start.”
“It was hard last year now. To be fair, we stuck with it and we finished it out. A good few of us are still there this year and going again. It’s more competitive and you get more enjoyment out of it.”
Following last season’s disappointment, the Rathmullan Celtic goalkeeper stated that there would have been emphasis put on making a positive start to this campaign.
They currently sit three points off the top after the first four games but Hagan discussed that there’s no targets of winning the league, that they’ll just get to Christmas and see where they stand from there.
“There was yeah (emphasis put on a good start). I suppose you want to win a few games anyway and get a few points on the board.”
“Going a year without any points isn’t great no matter how poor you are, usually you pick something up along the way.”
“We were just going into this year looking to be more competitive, we’re not looking to win the league or anything. We’ll get to Christmas and see how we’re getting on and you can look at that sort of stuff then maybe.”
The bright start will certainly have boosted the morale of the Rathmullan outfit following last season and Hagan agreed that it has.
The numbers gathering for training this term are high within the group, which makes it easier to build connections with each other on the field.
“It’s good now”, said Hagan. ‘Training and all is good too. Last year was hard when you’re getting beat every week and trying to get boys out to training.”
That’s a lot easier now, we’re getting numbers out to training and getting used to playing with the same boys to get connections going.”
From a personal point of view for the Rathmullan Celtic netminder, it’s also been a superb start to the campaign as the side have kept three clean sheets in their opening four matches.
Hagan claimed that the defence in front of him also have a lot to do with this stat while also giving praise to the players at the top end of the pitch, with the returning Jay Curran having a significant impact.
“It’s not just me to be fair, I’ve boys in front of me that are a big help too and I try my best to keep them out.”
“The one goal I conceded was an early goal against Cappry and even that’s a positive because we conceded a lot last year.”
“If you can keep them out then that’s a good start and hopefully score a few at the other end then.”
“Even with the goals, we didn’t score many last year but we’re scoring a few already this year. We’ve got Jay Curran back, he was away last year and he’s going well so far.”
The focus of the Rathmullan side now turns to cup action this weekend as they travel to Ballybofey United this Sunday in the Ulster Cup.
The Ballybofey men have been unable to secure a win in their first three league matches but Hagan stated that it’s a tough place to go and he’ll hope that they can advance to the next round.
“We’re away to Ballybofey United in the Ulster Cup this weekend. It’s always a difficult place to go but we’ll try and give it a go.”
