Naomh Colmcille captan Willie Gillespie
2016 was a year to forget for Naomh Colmcille, but their fortunes have been much improved this term.
The Newtowncunningham men reached the 2015 Intermediate Final, and while they lost out to Bundoran, they still were well placed to push on and improve as a team.
However that didn’t happen, and they were relegated from Division 3 of the All County League, and also dropped down to Junior football, after Carndonagh shocked them in a Relegation Play-Off at the Centre of Excellence in Convoy late last year.
That was a blow but they just started again this year with a clean slate, and have regained some confidence under manager Ryan McKinley.
“Last year was very disappointing,” said McKinley.
“We went from being 60 minutes away from senior football to dropping down to junior.
“We just lost a few lads last year, and struggled to replace them. Some boys headed away to America, and I finished up playing myself.
“It was disappointing with the way it worked out, but it probably didn’t do us any real harm.
“Our confidence was very low but we’ve picked it up again now. We only lost three games this season, whereas we lost 14 or 15 last year.
“The lads have got a winning mentality back again now.”
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