Fenagh management reacts to semi-final loss

“It's a hard place to be, at the end of big battles like that when you don't come out the end of it, and when you do get the performance and you play really well,” Said Nevin O’Donnell, manager of Fenagh St Caillins, and Leitrim’s Senior goalkeeper after his teams loss on Saturday. 

“It took us a wee while to get going. We were probably 15 minutes in and we hadn't got a score on board, playing into a bit of a stiff breeze, we weren't as efficient moving the ball forward at times. But we were still bringing loads of energy, getting turnovers and breaking up the field,” he said

“You can do all these things right, but I suppose we still just didn't get enough scores on the board, which is obviously the game at the end of the day. When you're playing against a very experienced team like Mohill, they'll punish you at big moments like that if you don't take (chances) at the other end of the field.”

His team struggled in the first half but battled back bravely in the second to tie level after trailing by four points at the break. “The lads showed great effort and determination and real honesty there on the field to go hard for everything 50-50, and done really well at big moments in the game. And to still come out the wrong end of it, it's tough on that Fenagh group, because they've been here as well the last few times. You just have to feel for them there,” he said. 

Fenagh were dealt a blow shortly after half time as Ryan O’Rourke was forced to retire from the game due to injury. “A player of Ryan's quality, he's as good a player as anyone in the county, he's as good as what's in the province. It was a huge blow to us,” he said.

O’Donnell along with Emlyn Mulligan took over the management of Fenagh late in the year, only having five weeks with the team before the championship semi-final.

“We had a lot of stuff to get across to the players; adjusting training and everything we wanted and expected, and I suppose we had to be very careful in what we were doing, not to go too far with them too soon, because it wouldn't have worked. And in fairness to the lads, they took a lot on board, they really showed that they're a really good outfit, and they can play football at a really high level,” he adds.

On the question of whether himself and his management team will be back to lead the team again next year, he says time will tell. “It's too soon to call or anything like that, but in fairness, if it was me, or if it was a new management, they're a great bunch of lads to work with, from the day we came into a training session, to a gym, to a meeting, we've had 35 plus at everything,” he said.