APPARENTLY winning when not at your best is the sign of a good team. If so, this Foreglen squad could be on their way to immortality within the history books of the O’Brien’s club.
To date this year we’ve seen plenty of the good and the great, occasionally the bad, but Sunday showed Foreglen have also learned how to win ‘ugly’. Going in as favourites off the back of a punishing recent schedule which continues this week against Greenlough in the Division Two League Final, Naomh Muire were dangerous opposition.
Danny Donnelly’s Donegal side probably had the game’s most impressive players in full back Brian Gillespie - who was released from his defensive shackles once Foreglen moved Kevin O’Connor out - and brothers Shaun and Paul ‘Yank’ Boyle. Shaun in particular caused Foreglen all sorts of trouble and finished with 1-4 from play while Paul was superb in a Naomh Muire midfield that dominated throughout.
The first half was delayed for seven minutes after the third Boyle brother, Hugh, picked up a nasty knee injury but for 35 of those 37 minutes Foreglen looked a pale shadow of the side that won the Derry Championship in style.
The visitors appeared to have exclusive rights on the breaking ball in the opening half and got off to a dream start with a goal from Shaun Boyle which Foreglen keeper, Gavin McCormick, probably should have done better with. Captain Paul Boyle won the ball in midfield and sent a perfect ball into brother Shaun, who was being marked by Pauric Sheerin. Boyle showed great strength to hold off the Foreglen man but scuffed his shot into the ground as he fell, the bounce deceiving McCormick and ending up in the back of the net. If the nature of the score was fortunate, it was little more than Naomh Muire deserved and they had tagged on a further three points - two more from Shaun Boyle - before Foreglen managed their first meaningful attack on 13 minutes.
The Foreglen front line was getting precious little change out of the Naomh Muire back line which, in nullifying the ball into Kevin O’Connor, had robbed Foreglen of a attacking focal point. With O’Connor temporarily taking a back seat, Foreglen needed a shot in the arm and Eunan McFeely provided it. Coming deeper, O’Connor fed the ball into Kevin O’Neill who picked out the run of McFeely charging forward. McFeely still had plenty to do but showed great pace to run away from a chasing Naomh Muire back line and finish emphatically to cut the visitors lead to 1-0 to 1-3.
It was scarcely deserved but rather than signal a shift in momentum, Naomh Muire maintained the upper hand. Crucially though Naomh Muire never fully translated their first half display onto the scoreboard. The loss of Hugh Boyle to injury didn’t help but as the first half ticked into its final 90 seconds it still appeared they would go in five points up at 1-5 to 1-0.
But the game changed completely in those 90 seconds. First, the impressive Niall Feely and O’Connor combined to set up a lovely Nigel Bradley point. Then Naomh Muire keeper Brian Grant scuffed the resultant kick-out. O’Connor didn’t need to be asked twice and sent over another great score. Thirty seconds later and Robert O’Donnell fouled Niall McFeely. O’Connor obliged from the free and Naomh’s Muire previous 35 minutes had all but been undone.
The second half was more like the Foreglen that teams in Division Two have been used to this season. O’Connor dropped deeper to dictate play and crucially the runners returned. It took only four minutes to wipe out Naomh Muire’s lead and go one up after points from Bradley, Niall McFeely, Eoghan Duffy and a superb score from John Duffy from the narrowest of angles.
The Donegal men did manage to level but the tide was turning and looked to have capsized the Donegal challenge when Foreglen grabbed a second goal on 42 minutes. The move was started by O’Neill who found Eunan McFeely along the right touchline, the corner-forward then showing great vision to pick out O’Connor with a lovely centre to leave the big No. 14 the easiest of tasks to punch into the net. Another O’Connor point seconds later looked to have killed the game but Naomh Muire weren’t done. Back they came to level through Darragh White (2), Jack O’Brien and substitute Ciaran McGinley and set up a grandstand finish with six minutes to go.
With the game in the balance, Ciaran McFeely produced a fantastic long range point to edge Foreglen in front again and with Naomh Muire throwing everything forward, Foreglen broke at pace with Bradley and substitute James O’Kane rubber-stamping a semi-final meeting with Truagh of Monaghan.
It was never pretty but at this stage of the season it doesn’t have to be.
Almost Done!
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