Glenswilly goalkeeper Caolan Kelly is pleased with the side’s start to their championship campaign and is expecting another tough battle when they face Sean MacCumhaills this weekend.

Gary McDaid’s side got the better of Naomh Conaill courtesy of a one-point victory at Pairc Naomh Columba on Saturday evening.

It was a brilliant victory for the young outfit which the Glenswilly goalkeeper agreed with but he insisted that not a lot should be read into it given the players that their opposition were without on the day.

“We started really well and we got into a great lead. The elements were in our favour in the first half and we took advantage of it, going in 0-9-0-3 up. Going in at half-time we probably didn’t think it’d be enough but the boys knuckled down and worked really hard in the second half”, said Kelly.

He continued, “Naomh Conaill are a great side and they came back into it, we were lucky enough to hold on towards the end. We’re just glad to get the win but it’s only a group game at the end of the day. It’s good to get off the mark, especially with a young team but I wouldn’t read too much into it at the same time.”

Gary McDaid stated last week that it was a great opportunity for his young side to test themselves against a side of Naomh Conaill’s calibre and they performed excellently with the likes of Kealan Dunleavy, Eoghan Scott, Pauric Devine and Reid Kelly all contributing dearly in attack.

“They’re a great bunch of lads, they’re a really honest bunch of young fellas. They’ve loads of ability and they’ve plenty of running power so it’s great to see them stepping up. Eoghan (Scott) as well getting the two goals were vital, especially the first goal. I thought Naomh Conaill pulled it back to three or four and Eoghan’s goal gave us a cushion again.”

Glenswilly had a perfect group stage of the championship last time out as they won all four of their encounters, the only team to achieve this.

When asked if the side have any aims of replicating this, the Glenswilly netminder expressed that it’s just about taking it one game at a time and hoping to come out of the group to begin with.

“It’s a pure cliche but you’re looking at it one game at a time, we haven’t looked at anything apart from Naomh Conaill since the draw was made. Last year we won the four games but then we went out in the quarter-final and deservedly got beaten by Dungloe. You’re just managing it game by game and MacCumhaill’s this weekend will be a huge test again.”

“You’d just be hoping to first of all come out of the group and then whether you go into a preliminary quarter-final or a quarter-final then we’ll be looking to go a step further than we did last year anyway.”

The three-time senior county champions face a tough test this weekend in the form of Gary Wilson’s Sean MacCumhaills.

The pair have faced-off in the previous two championship campaigns with a win-apiece for either side.

The Twin Towns men overcame McDaid’s side in the 2023 quarter-final, aided by a haul of 1-9 from Oisin Gallen, before Glenswilly got their revenge in last year’s group stage with a win in their own backyard.

Like Glenswilly, Wilson’s men also got off to winning ways as they defeated St Michael’s by the minimum at the Bridge.

“It’ll be a ding dong. We’ve had them the last two years now. Two years ago they beat us in the quarter-final, Gallen shot the lights out that day and he’ll be back from holidays for this weekend. We beat them at home last year in the group stage so it’ll be another tough battle.”