Kilcar boss: We have to trust instincts

By Shaun Casey

ALL the hard work has been done and it’s about the enjoyment of huge championship clashes says Kilcar boss Conor Cunningham.

His side face reigning Donegal champions St Eunan’s this weekend with a spot in the final the prize for the victors. It’s a postponed clash after last weekend’s match was rescheduled due to the tragic deaths of Brendan Devenney’s father Patrick and sister Margaret.

“There’s no margin for error at this stage, it’s something we’re looking forward to and obviously we were glad to get over last weekend and we’re refocused and ready to rock this weekend now,” said Cunningham.

“All the hard work is done and at this stage now the boys just want to get going, they’re looking forward to it, they’re excited about it.

“You can over think everything sometimes and you’re better off just going with your gut on a couple of decisions and not to over analyse.

“The boys, this is what they’ve been training for, big matches like this so we’re good to go and we’ve a full team to pick from which is a huge benefit. Thank God it’s all good.

“We’ve been fortunate enough, obviously during the league and the championship we had a few niggles at different stages, but we’ve got them cleared up and I suppose the extra week off would have helped with one or two small issues.

“As regards to this Saturday now we have a full panel to pick from and we’re in a good place now.”

In their quarter final clash with Killybegs, talisman Patrick McBrearty hit top form with 0-9 (0-7 from play) but Cunningham insists Kilcar need other players to step up.

“He’s in good form and I suppose he sets high standards for himself, but we can’t totally rely on Paddy either, we need other players to step up and push on and ask St Eunan’s questions defensively.

“I’m sure St Eunan’s will have some plan in place to curtail Paddy as best they can so it’s up to us to get another couple of players to take the pressure off Paddy.”

Kilcar head into the game as underdogs, but that won’t weaken their belief that they are good enough to dethrone the champions.

“We understand that we’re underdogs. From early on at the start of the championship St Eunan’s would have been clear favourites and they’ve been building this past seven or eight years.

“Their team itself has probably won every underage grade with this panel of players and it was just a matter of time until they crossed the line at senior championship level. But we’re confident in out own ability and on the rare occasion we go in as underdogs doesn’t diminish our confidence.

“We believe that we have the players to really test them, our record over the past couple of years has been pretty good against them and no more than ourselves they’ll probably say they haven’t been fully tested yet and it’s our role to test them and put them to the pin of their collars and hopefully that’ll be enough to get us over the line this weekend.”