BY MATTHEW WILSON

GAOTH Dobhair manager Rónán Mac Niallais is anticipating a ‘real test’ when his side face Sean MacCumhaills this Sunday in Round Four of the Donegal Senior Championship.

The Magheragallon men have been fairly flawless results wise to date in the championship, sitting on maximum following victories over Glenfin, St Naul’s and Aodh Ruadh in their opening three encounters.

The Gaoth Dobhair boss is pleased with his side’s start but feels that there’s still areas that the team can work on and improve for future tests.

“We’re delighted to be on six points, some of the performances probably weren’t what we’d have hoped but we still won the games so that’s a good enough sign that we can win without playing too well.”

“It’s in our own hands going into the weekend, we’d like to make the top four for a change to give ourselves a week off. All you can ask going into the last weekend is that it’s in your own hands so we’d be happy enough in that regard. Obviously there’s a lot to work on and improve but so far we’d be relatively happy.”

Gaoth Dobhair were boosted by the return of their county players for the championship with both Daire O’Baoill and Domhnall Mac Ghiolla Bhride being introduced from the bench against St Naul’s before starting a week later against Aodh Ruadh at home.

However, Odhran McFadden Ferry has yet to take to the field for the Magheragallon based side. Mac Niallais stated that the county player is currently dealing with a knock but is hoping he can return to the fold soon.

“We’re in touch with him and he’s just struggling a bit with a knock he has so we’re hoping we’ll see him at some point, probably won’t be this week but we might see him back training next week,” said the Gaoth Dobhair manager.

He continued: “If we were to get a result this weekend then we’d have two weeks to allow him to get back for a quarter-final because going into the knockout stages you need every player of that quality available to you so we’d love to have him back if his body is up to it.”

This Sunday, Gaoth Dobhair face arguably their toughest test yet when they come up against Gary Wilson’s Sean MacCumhaills at the Donegal GAA Centre.

The pair are familiar with each other having crossed each others path twice in 2023, including the county semi-final, while they met again in last year’s preliminary quarter-final.

“We’re fed up of playing Sean MacCumhaills and I’d say they’re fed up of playing us,” Mac Niallais joked.

“We played each other last year and played each other twice the year before. We know them well and they know us well but they seem to be progressing now. They have a lot of young players coming through so obviously (Oisin) Gallen is the main man but the supporting cast is improving there all the time so I’d say they’ve ideas of going a long way in the championship.”

There’s a lot on the line when the two teams meet this Sunday. The Twin Towns outfit are just a point behind the Magheragallon men in the championship table.

A win for either side will secure a top four finish and give one of the two the luxury of having a weekend off as the rest of the teams battle it out in the preliminary quarter-final.

The Gaoth Dobhair boss is expecting a real test when they meet MacCumhaills, who he feels have serious attacking threats in their arsenal.

“It’ll be a great test for both teams to see where we’re at, there’s a top four place at stake as well and I’m sure it’ll be a tight game one way or another.”

“We’re looking forward to the challenge and anytime you get to play against Gallen and see him up close is a joy even though you’re on your nerves on the sideline.”

“That’s where you want to be, you want to be testing yourself against the best and it’ll be a great test for our lads defensively to see if we can cope with that. They’ve stacked full of quality players in the forward division so we’ll have plenty of threats to try and nullify at the weekend.