'We knew we had the players to push on in the second half and win' - Barrett

Donegal Under-20 manager Shaun Paul Barrett was delighted to get past the challenge of Fermanagh at MacCumhaill Park on Wednesday night and set up a winner-takes-all clash with Armagh in a fortnight’s time. 

Donegal ran out comfortable 11-point winners against the Erne County in their second Ulster Championship match to maintain their 100pc record in the competition. 

Shaun Paul Barrett was delighted for his outfit to step up and get over the line on a night where conditions proved to be challenging.

“We’re just happy that we got over the line there tonight, another good victory”, said Barrett. “Conditions were poor tonight, particularly underfoot. It stayed dry for the game but the pitch was very wet. Conditions were difficult and it was a very cagey game, particularly in the first half. However, we knew we had the players to push on in the second half, we looked for a lot more from them in the second half and thankfully they brought that.”

Despite the difficult conditions, Donegal still managed to rack up a score of 1-13, which included seven different scorers from all across the pitch. 

When asked about this, the Milford clubman mentioned the belief that they have in the talented group of players and know what they are capable of. 

“We’ve good players, we have a lot of belief in the players. They do a lot of work and do a lot of shooting so we know we have fellas that can score from all over the pitch but we also know we have lads that can defend.”

“We said at half-time today that we are probably about 40pc off where we should be and so we went out and upped it in the second half.”

With just over ten minutes left on the clock, the game was firmly in the melting pot with just five points between the sides. This was when the crucial score arrived, with Paddy McElwee finding the green flag. 

Barrett praised McElwee’s quick-thinking and agreed that it was an important score for his side and gave them a cushion in the game.

“Paddy (McElwee) won the free and right away he was switched on and looked to see a man outside him, popped the ball over to him and then we were three-on-one and we were able to pass the ball across the goal-line and Paddy was able to come in and get his hand to it and knock it in”, discussed the Milford man. 

He continued, “That goal gave us a bit of a cushion but at the start of the second half we scored a point to bring it out to five points so that was an important score for us as well but look we’re happy getting past Fermanagh now tonight and looking forward to Armagh in two weeks time.”

Victory here leaves both Donegal and Armagh sitting on maximum points in Section B of the Ulster Under-20 Championship. The two sides go head-to-head in MacCumhaill Park in two weeks time with the winner securing a spot in the Ulster semi-final. 

The Donegal under-20 manager praised the impressive Armagh side that awaits them however, is looking forward to the massive match in a fortnight’s time. 

“Absolutely, we’ve seen Armagh play and we hope to have a look at them again. They’re a very good side, big, strong and physical. They’re well coached and well set-up so it’s a massive game for us, sort of winner-takes-all in two weeks time.”