Eoghan Rua topping the pile

BY KIERAN LYNCH

EOGHAN RUA Coleraine sit atop of the pile in the Derry Division 1 Football League, but manager Sean McGoldrick says that his side aren’t getting carried away just yet.

They have lost only once in their opening eight games, but with just four points separating the top seven teams, it’s still all to play for.

“We have been doing well, but to be fair most of the games we have played have been pretty even, and we’ve just had that bit of luck to come out with good results,” said McGoldrick.

“The games could have gone either way: one-point wins, one-point losses, a couple of draws, and that’s probably a reflection of the fact that a lot of the teams are missing their county players, whilst we don’t have any county players at the minute. But I know from past experience that when you’re missing your county players, you’re missing your leaders in the changing room, and it does make a difference.”

Eoghan Rua have managed to find their form, despite a number of injuries, as players such as Finn McEwan, Thomas Magee and Dermot Lynch have stepped up to the mark.

“We’ve had a few injuries, so we’ve had no choice but to try out some new faces,” said McGoldrick.

“We’re struggling for numbers, because we lost a lot of players, and we’ve been struggling to field a reserve team. That side of it has been difficult, but the positive is that it has given those reserve players the opportunity to play in the Senior League and show what they can do.”

Eoghan Rua host Dungiven on Saturday, who sit in thirteenth place out of the 14 teams in the league, but McGoldrick hinted that the table means very little in what is a highly competitive league.

“I imagine it’ll be much like all the games we have played so far, and it will be very close,” he predicts.

“It’s a game that could really go either way. I don’t really follow other teams’ results; I just look at our own situation, but there are a lot of teams around a similar level in the league.

“Last week we played Lavey, and we were able to dig it out and win by a goal, but that game could have gone either way.

“We’re happy enough with the way the league has been going so far, but we’re certainly not going to get carried away.”