Donegal footballer Hugh McFadden.
By Cian O’Connell
Donegal summoned a performance in Killarney against Kerry, but points are precisely what Declan Bonner’s charges crave when Galway visit Letterkenny this weekend.
It has the cut of a vital Allianz Football League Division One fixture and Donegal’s cocktail of youth and experience are aware of the implications.
A second successive defeat would leave them in a worrying position so the stakes are piled high with Hugh McFadden acknowledging the importance of the match.
“The traditional three week break after the early rounds of the National Football League is gone so it is going to be important to hit the ground running, to pick up your League points,” McFadden says.
“Teams won't have the opportunity to put in a lot of work between the games so we will be trying to get the win this weekend in Letterkenny to build towards the rest of the League.”
Being beaten by Kerry was a blow considering Donegal were so dynamic throughout. “Any day you lose a game is disappointing, but I suppose the manner in which we lost the game and the performance levels we got up to made it that bit more disappointing,” McFadden admits.
“On top of a long trip home it was a bitter evening, but we will look at the positives and the negatives from the game to see how we can use that now looking towards Galway in the National Football League.”
Hugh McFadden in action against Kerry at Killarney on Sunday.
Bonner has been involved with several of the Donegal panel previously at underage level. “My only experience working with Declan Bonner was he when he was a selector on the county minor team under Stephen Friel's management in 2012,” McFadden states. “I wasn't on any of the underage teams Declan had great success with.
“I think he won Under 16, 17, minor, and Under 21 Ulster Championships with a similar crowd of fellas. It shows the commitment, the effort, and the quality of training him and his management team have put in through the years. Hopefully Donegal can reap the rewards, but also maintain the standards at underage level that we have now.”
A raft of high profile retirements means Donegal have been forced to integrate youngsters, especially in the last 18 months.
“Yeah, it is well documented out there that we have lost a lot of quality players and legends of the Donegal game. We have a lot of quality young fellas coming in now along with a few of the older heads that are still about.
“We can blend, use that experience and the hunger of the youth to build a good squad. There are a lot of good players and if they apply themselves well in the next few years they could be quality inter-county players for Donegal moving forward.”
McFadden accepts the return of Odhran MacNiallais and Leo McLoone to the panel is hugely important also. “Odhran MacNiallais and Leo McLoone are two quality footballers, they would be a massive addition to any squad in the country,” McFadden stresses.
“We are lucky to have them back in the Dongeal jersey; they are two very proud Donegal men who will represent Donegal well. It definitely adds a bit of depth to the squad, and with that competitiveness at training hopefully we can use that to build towards raising our performance levels.”
