By Matthew Wilson
Donegal Junior League manager Eamonn Sheridan is anticipating a tough test in this Sunday’s Oscar Traynor Cup semi-final but hopes that his players are up for the challenge.
The Donegal Junior League side secured their spot in the last four of the Oscar Traynor Cup competition courtesy of a win over the Inishowen League across two legs.
They held a slender 3-2 lead heading into the reverse fixture where they managed to come away with a 1-0 win, producing a performance that Sheridan was very pleased with.
“It was an excellent win and well deserved, it could’ve been more. We were probably the better team from start to finish, it was probably the best that we’ve played since we came in. It was a good team performance now.”
The first leg of this clash was a frantic encounter which saw Sheridan’s outfit lead 3-0 but lead by just the goal at the final whistle.
Heading to Maginn Park, it was going to be a tough task but they managed to stand up to the challenge while also keeping a clean sheet which the Donegal Junior League boss was delighted with.
“Definitely, they’ve a lot of Cockhill players who know each other well. You could see in the first game that they were well used to playing with each other compared to us.
“We just weren’t really at it, although you would’ve taken the one goal lead beforehand. In the second leg, we played more like a team and every person played their part, even the subs that came on. If it went like that on Sunday then we’d be more than happy.”
It’s been five weeks since the Donegal Junior League side have been in competitive action before Christmas.
The players have since returned to take to the field for their clubs in the Premier Division over the last two weeks and now their attention turns to this weekend’s Oscar Traynor Cup clash.
Speaking about their preparations, Sheridan expressed that all is going well amongst the camp and they’ve all regathered to prepare for the challenge that lies ahead.
“Things have gone well. They’ve had things going on with their club so this is the first week that I’ve said that we have yous this week and you buy into what we’re trying to do this week.
“They were in over Christmas, last week and twice this week. We’ll try and do a bit with them this week and we’ll see where that takes us.”
With the players being involved in club action in recent weeks, the Rathmullan man will have hoped that all of his Oscar Cup squad members came through unscathed.
Thankfully that appears to be the case, with Sheridan stating that he’s heard nothing in terms of injuries ahead of Tuesday night’s training and he hopes that remains the same in the coming days.
“We have a full bill of health so far. We train tonight so we’ll know more but nobody has said anything so that’s a good sign. There’ll be plenty of people fighting for 18 positions so it’s tough on the two that don’t make it because they’re all more than capable.”
Next up for the Donegal Junior League is a meeting with the Limerick District League this Sunday at Umbro Park in Milebush, with a 2pm kick-off time scheduled.
The Limerick outfit were 3-0 winners over the Munster Senior League recently to qualify for the semi-final stage and they’re possessed with a host of talented players.
Sheridan is aware of the challenge that faces his side this weekend in Mayo but he feels that if his men can resemble the performance that they produced at Maginn Park before Christmas that they can get the job done.
“I’ve done a bit of work on them the last week or so. I’ve had a few contacts here and there and I got a good bit of information on them.
“They’re a good team. They’ve quite a few players from Fairview Rangers and Pike Rovers, teams that are in the latter stages of the FAI Cup round every year so they’re a good team that are full of experience.
“But our team is full of experience too so they’re a good team but we’re a very good team. In the second leg against Inishowen I was very impressed and if we can play like that then we’d be quite confident that we can give it a go.”
The Donegal Junior League are now representing their county and Ulster at the All-Ireland stage of the competition.
They’ll be eager to get over the line this Sunday and have an Oscar Traynor Cup showpiece to look forward to and prepare for.
The Rathmullan native discussed that the group aren’t looking past Sunday’s challenge but stated that they want to give it a go.
“It definitely would, yeah, you want to get there and win it. We want to give it a go but we’ll not look much further than Sunday. If we can turn up and play the way we can then there’s no reason that we can’t go through so bring it on.”
