By Matthew Wilson
Fanad United manager Arthur Lynch stated that his side are entering this Sunday’s cup clash with Cockhill Celtic as underdogs but said it’s a contest he’s looking forward to.
Fanad United were last in action last Saturday where they suffered a 4-3 defeat to Kilmacrennan Celtic in the Brian McCormick Sports Premier Division.
It was a match which Fanad United led 3-2 heading into the last 30 minutes but two goals courtesy of Conor Temple and Conor Black sealed the win for the hosts, with Lynch feeling some errors cost them on the day.
“We made a few mistakes which were costly. I actually thought we played quite well but we beat ourselves in the end but it’s sort of been the story of our season.
“We’ve been a little bit inconsistent and we have to try to get a performance sorted out now for this weekend.”
The Traigh a Loch outfit may have struggled to find rhythm or momentum in recent months, with the side not in action in successive weeks between the middle of November and the middle of February.
Lynch stated that this was a tough spell but having now taken to the field for three weeks running, he’s hoping that his side can try to build on their performances.
“It was a difficult period, between one thing and another it was a very long period with very little football. It’s hard to keep that going but over the last few weeks we’ve had games and we can try to build on it now.”
Fanad United will have to put last weekend’s league defeat behind them as their attention turns swiftly towards the start of the FAI Junior Cup this weekend.
The start date for the FAI Junior Cup has been altered, with Fanad United’s first round game last term taking place on September 22nd in comparison to this year’s March 8th.
Speaking to the Donegal News, Lynch expressed his discontentment with the decision to have pushed back the start date, stating that domestic campaigns will have concluded by the time the national stages of the cup begin.
“I think playing the first round of the FAI Junior Cup in March is ridiculous. It’s basically the FAI having no consideration for teams.
“It’s just basically bully boy tactics because they didn’t get their way with teams going to play calendar football.
“No matter who comes out of the county, you’ll have 85 to 90 percent of the teams in the competition from the country that won’t even be playing football, it makes no sense.”
The FAI Junior Cup draw served up an intriguing first round encounter for the Traigh a Loch residents as they will face Inishowen outfit Cockhill Celtic this Sunday.
Gavin Cullen’s men will provide a stern test for Arthur Lynch’s side, with the Buncrana club recently being crowned champions of the Inishown Junior League following a 2-0 win over Carn last weekend.
The Fanad United boss is aware of the threat which this Sunday’s opponents possess however, he stated that it’s an encounter that‘s very much looking forward to.
“It’s a good game for us to get and I’m looking forward to it. We haven’t played Cockhill competitively in a few years so it’ll be good to go and put yourself against one of the best teams in the county and the country really.
“They’re a strong outfit, they have been for a number of years. It’s one that you have to look forward to. That’s why you play football and they’re the games you want.”
Coming into this cup clash off the back of just becoming league champions following an unbeaten campaign, Cockhill Celtic will be beaming with confidence.
Lynch’s side will certainly feel like they can match the Inishowen outfit over 90 minutes of play but the Fanad United manager expressed that they will be entering this tie as the underdogs.
“We’re going into the game as underdogs, there’s no two ways about it. It’ll pan out whatever way it goes but we’ll just have to treat it like every other game, try to get ourselves up for it, give a good account of ourselves and hopefully we might get something out of it.”
Having exited the Brian McCormick Cup in the early stages back in September, the Fanad men will be relishing the opportunity of a cup run this time.
They reached the last eight stage of the competition last term, losing out to Fairview Rangers, and they would love to replicate this but Lynch discussed that you need an element of luck on your side.
“It would be great. We got to the quarter-final of the competition last year, we went on a good run and things went well for us.
“It’s like any competition, you need the rub of the green and you need a bit of luck here and there. If we can get that and we can put a performance together then who knows. We’ll just have to give it our best shot and see where it takes us.”
