THE Donegal Minor Ladies know that regardless of how today’s (Monday) semi-final with Armagh goes (throw-in, 1.30pm at Fintona), they will have a final to prepare for next Sunday.

If James McGinley’s team are victorious against the Orchard county, they will be through to the ‘A’ Final, and will be able to sit back and watch on as Cavan and Monaghan battle it out in the second part of the double-header to see who their opponents will be in the decider.

However, if Donegal are defeated they will have to make do with the ‘B’ Final where they will face the side that loses the Cavan-Monaghan clash.

McGinley’s team are unbeaten so far this year, and they are intent on reaching the ‘A’ Final next weekend.

“It was something we targeted at the start of the season so now we’re looking for a big performance.

“Psychologically they’re gaining with every win they have had, and they are improving with every game.

“It’s a big game for us but there’s no reason why we can’t make it through to the ‘A’ Final.

“The team are excited about the game and we just hope that we can give a good account of ourselves now.”

Donegal defeated Tyrone and Cavan in their first two matches, but they weren’t assured of a spot in the last four heading into their final match.

However, they were excellent last weekend when they played Antrim, and goals from Susanne White and Amy Boyle Carr saw them record a 2-14 to 1-8 win.

Donegal go in to today’s game in a confident mood, but McGinley isn’t expecting anything easy against an Armagh side, who like to raise green flags.

“We were happy with most of the game.

“We lost our shape in the last 12 or 13 minutes and we got a player sin-binned which didn’t help us.

“We were 2-11 to 0-5 up after 15 minutes of the second half and were playing well, but we probably took the foot off the gas a little bit after that.

“Now we still managed to come back and get the final two scores, so we were happy with that, and happy to make it through.

“The team are playing well. We’re defensively solid, but we’re also letting the ball in early which is working out for us.”

Donegal will go into today’s game as favourites, but McGinley expects a stern test against the girls from the Orchard county.

“Armagh won two games. They beat Down and Tyrone and they lost to Monaghan.

“They went into their last game against Fermanagh needing to win, and they won on a scoreline of 5-7 to 1-12.

“That score kind of sums up where they are at, as they have a lot of nippy forwards and they go looking for goals.

“They have a very good midfielder in Grace Ferguson, and a couple of other players that were on the Ulster Post Primary Interprovincial team.

“They will probably set up defensively as most teams do at this level, and they will be tough to play against.”