‘The community is really coming together, there’s a great buzz’
DONARD-THE GLEN boss Mickey Daly has ignited a fire in his players since taking over and has brought them to their first county final in 20 years.
The experienced Daly is a hugely popular figure not just in Donard but all across the county given his time with Kevin O’Brien in the Wicklow under-20s and he has managed to bring together all those different strands of a rural club that must be secured if success is to follow.
Daly says that the team and the community are ‘delighted’ to be back in the final but that it’s still a game that has to be won.
‘We’re delighted. It’s our first final in 20 years. The last time we played in the IFC final was in 2000 against Dunlavin. We went Senior for a good few years after, we were there for about 12 years but we’ve been back in Intermediate for about eight years now and this is the first final we’ve been to and it’s a great boost for the whole area.
‘This squad had lost four semi-finals since we came back to Intermediate. It was a kind of a monkey off our backs to get over it. There was a bit of relief to get over it at the end once the final whistle went. We were kind of slipping back the other way, hadn’t been overly competitive for the last two or three years. Everyone dug deep this year which is great and it’s great to get to a final but we have to win it now,’ he said.
Mickey suggests a betting man would go for the draw come Sunday afternoon, given the results throughout the championship, with both Donard-the Glen and Coolkenno beating both Ballymanus and Carnew Emmets by a single point.
‘Coolkenno, if you look at the results all the way through the championship, we’ve both played Ballymanus and Carnew and we’ve both beaten them by a point. The whole championship has been so competitive. The betting man would go for a draw on Sunday.
‘Coolkenno are a club we would have great respect for. They’re like ourselves, picking from a small pick the while time, always competitive. This is going to be a huge battle really. We know that.
‘I remember when Donard-the Glen and Coolkenno players were on county teams we were always drawn to each other. We’re two clubs who have just got on well. There’s a close thing there with the clubs. It’s because we’re from similar areas and similar backgrounds,’ he said.
Putting aside the fondness for the Coolkenno club, where does Mickey see their main threats?
‘They’re good all over the field, but particularly in the semi-final they had a very good defensive set-up. Kilcoole, to me, would be a very strong team, they (Coolkenno) really cut out their scoring threat. Now, obviously, Eamonn Rossiter had a huge match for them; another man who has been around and done it all. He really drove them on, and then up front you have ‘Ducky’ and Pauric Murray. I had Pauric with the under-20s. I hadn’t known him before that but he was outstanding for us. He’s top scorer in the championship at the moment and it’s no surprise.
‘They’re a big physical team. They’re like ourselves, they can mix it. They’ve threats all over the field really,’ he said
Injuries are not an issue for MIckey but getting people to the game is a different kettle of fish.
‘All well. Couple of knocks, nothing much, couple or bruises from championship football. There’s a great buzz around the place. The community is really coming together, all sorts of banners and flags and it’s a thing the town has been missing for so long. With a bit of luck these tickets will come now and we’ll get a few people to the match. There are lots of people who’d love to be at the match especially given the year that we’ve had,’ he said.