By John Harrington

Kilcar are determined to finally deliver on the club’s great expectations in Sunday’s Donegal Club SFC Final against Glenswilly on Sunday.

It’s 23 years since they were last champions and there’s a good deal of pressure on the current ‘golden generation’ to finally bridge that gap.

They boast inter-county stars like Mark, Ryan, and Eoin McHugh and Paddy and Stephen McBrearty in their ranks, and those players are keenly aware it’s time they deliver on their massive potential.

“I think that has been the situation for Kilcar for the last six years, everyone has been expecting us to win it,” admits Paddy McBrearty.

“I suppose with every year which passes that you don’t win it, there is added pressure. It is not easy playing for Kilcar and Donegal because over the last few years, there have been a few years there where it has been tough.

“Hopefully on Sunday we can do it. It does not matter how we do it, once we get the right result we will be happy.”

Kilcar were highly impressive in their county semi-final when they blew away defending champions Naomh Conaill by 5-10 to 1-11. They play the game with great pace and skill and have devastating finishers like McBrearty and Eoin McHugh in their attack..

The difference this year though is that those qualities have been supplemented by greater physicality. In the past Kilcar were accused of being a light team, too easily horsed out of it. But that hasn’t been the case so far this year.

“We were aware of that perception but we probably were too small in areas,” admits McBrearty. “We got a strength and conditioning coach in and we got a few lads bulked up which I think helped a lot.

But definitely people perceived Kilcar with being small and probably still do. We just go out and try and play football every day.

“I just think everyone is a year older. The core of the team is still very young, 23/24 is the average age of the team. Everyone is a year older, Eoin (McHugh) has played for Donegal for a season, my brother Stephen was called up to the county panel, I just think the team has more maturity all round and I think that is a big plus.”

They also have the benefit of a shrewd operator on the sideline in the shape of manager, and Donegal football legend, Martin McHugh.

“Martin has been great,” says McBrearty. “He has been there, he has done that, he has won an All-Ireland with Donegal and he won four county titles as a player with Kilcar so there is a lot of respect for him within the dressing room.

“He has brought more knowledge and confidence to the team as well. He has definitely given us a big boost and his brother James is there too and that has been a big boost as well.”

Kilcar go into Sunday’s Final as favourites, but Glenswilly will provide them with a serious challenge. It’ll be the ultimate test of whether Kilcar have cast off their reputation for being a ‘light’ team, because Glenswilly don’t lack for big men or physicality.

They’re inspired by county players Michael Murphy and Neil Gallagher, and McBrearty admits Kilcar have to find a way of limiting that duo's influence if they’re to come out on top.

"Yeah, he’s (Murphy) definitely…the size of him is even intimidating. But yeah, he’s definitely going to need watching now. He’s one of the top forwards in the game so it’s about how we can control him and control Neil which is what it will come down to.

“They have a lot of boys there that have played inter-county football that other teams probably forget about. That’s why they have been so successful; their other players or so-called lesser players were having big impacts in the games because teams were so focussed on Michael, so their other players like Gary McFadden and Ciaran Bonner definitely need watching.”

Kilcar’s run to the Final has seen them overcome quality teams like St. Michael’s, Killybegs, Termon, and Naomh Conaill, so they won’t fear the Glenswilly challenge.

The feeling in the club is that their time has come, and McBrearty admits it would be a massive moment were this generation of players to finally  deliver on their massive potential.

“It would be up there with the All-Ireland in 2012 definitely,” he says. “Kilcar has 900 people or whatever living in it and football is the only thing there, so there’s a great buzz around. It would definitely be up there but as I said there’s nothing won as of yet but hopefully.

“I think 23 years is too long for Kilcar to not even be in a final, never mind win one. For a lot of our players it’s about winning the first one and then see what happens after that.

“But Glenswilly have been there and done that, I think it’s their fifth or sixth final now since 2007 so they are not going to be easy. They have a lot of experience players like Michael Murphy, Neil Gallagher and Gary McFadden so it’s a big test for us.”