Donegal brothers excited for Derry decider

Donegal brothers Niall and Shane O’Donnell are looking forward to the challenge ahead of Sunday’s Ulster Senior Football final against Derry at a sold out St. Tiernach’s Park.

Speaking to Matthew O’Donnell on FinalWhistle previewing the game, the St. Eunan stars will be hoping to add an Ulster final medal to their club success from last year and continue on in the Championship with their county.

Talking about the build up and preparation for an Ulster final, forward Niall said:

“An Ulster final is something you can always look forward too. It makes going to training that wee bit easier. It has definitely been an exciting few weeks.”

Shane who only joined the senior panel this year, but has started the two games so far in the championship, insisted the team know how big of a test it is going to be.

“Watching them on the telly the last few years, you can see how much they have improved. They pushed us tight last year. They probably thought they could’ve won that game. They’re getting better and better and it is going to be a big challenge.”

Reminiscing on Donegal’s championship run last year which saw them fall short at the semi-final stage to eventual Ulster and All-Ireland winners Tyrone, Niall viewed the achievements of their neighbours as hope for his own county to claim similar success.

“I suppose looking back we had a hard run to the final last year. We’d Down, Derry, and then Tyrone before even getting to an Ulster final. The squad showed us anything can happen. We lost to Tyrone that day and I don’t think a lot of people would have thought Tyrone would go on to win an All-Ireland.

“It’s definitely kind of improved us. Losing to Tyrone as hard as it was to take, it kind of showed us that year that anything is possible if you put your heads to it and train hard enough. That was the main thing coming from that game.

“We all know in Donegal we are capable to win the All-Ireland but after seeing Tyrone do it, it made the dream a lot more realistic and possible that we could do it as well.”

21-year old Shane insisted the players are preparing the same for any game, but added that there is that extra bit of bite in training sessions with the added knowledge of the magnitude of the game they are about to play in.

“We prepare the same way. You have to take extra care of your body especially for the big championship games. Obviously for the final you want everyone fit and a full panel. You want to be pushing for spots. You can tell in training there is a bit more on the line because people are dying to get a jersey.”

Both praised Declan Bonner for the work he has done so far since he re-took charge of Donegal in 2018.

“I suppose for myself he was my county minor manager in my first year. I do think Declan coming in as senior manager, he knew about a lot of the young players and the young talent coming through Donegal. He coached two years minors and brought a lot of them players into senior level. I feel Declan knew what talent we had and knew how to get the best out of us, that is his biggest strength coming into the Donegal set up.

“He’s a mad Donegal man himself and he knows the club football well in Donegal and he’s been able to blend in more players every year. We’ve nearly got two or three good additions to the squad every year”, Niall said.

Shane was a bit “anxious” before entering the senior panel, but admits his teammates were “good to him” and the fact that his older brother was already there eased him into things. Winning the Donegal club championship with St. Eunan’s gave Shane the belief that he could mix it with senior men on the pitch.

“Stepping up to the county, you can tell in training it is a lot more physical. Players are bigger, stronger, and the games are longer as well and you notice that from the start. To be fair to Decan, he gave me a good run-out in the league and that helped me a lot with my game and my overall condition.”

For Donegal, they have already achieved two of their aims from the beginning of the season. Remaining in Division 1 in the league and getting to an Ulster final.

“The emphasis on the league is to do well and definitely not get relegated. We kind of struggled in the league and were a bit inconsistent. The main priority was maintaining Division 1 status.

“For Championship, every Ulster team has there eye on the Ulster final and that is where we are at now the weekend. Get to the Ulster final and see who you are playing. You don’t really look past that in Ulster, it is hard to get to an Ulster final”, Niall added.

When asked about potential banter in the household with older Niall replacing younger Shane during games, the pair laughed, however Niall was quick to add in it is something “we turn a blind eye too.”

The St. Eunan’s captain was quick to praise his younger brother. “It’s always nice coming on for your brother or seeing your brother play on the team as well. I suppose in 2020, the older brother Conor was on the panel and I was an Ulster finalist with him and now its nice to be in one with Shane.

“It doesn’t really make much of a difference, the best team has played the last two games and that has showed, we are in an Ulster final so, there’s not much banter at the minute, but there might be a bit more down the line.”

Niall revealed hat at the end of the season last year he had picked up a few niggles coming into the senior panel so he missed the start of pre-season which didn’t help him as when he came back, his teammates were already fit because they had featured in the McKenna Cup. When nearing full fitness, the forward pulled his hamstring against Tyrone in the league which set him back for the rest of the league games so he has been playing catch up ever since.

The pair remained tight lipped on who they would like to potentially face in the quarter-finals provided they overcome Derry, saying it is something “they don’t even think about.”

“I haven’t looked at any permutations about what can happen. It’s all been focused on Derry. It’ll be a massive challenge. I think it would be stupid to look past them”, Niall said.

It is a 4pm throw in in Clones ahead of an action packed day of senior county football.

Final year Journalism student in DCU. St. Pats reporter. Celtic supporter.

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