'We were looking for a win and a performance and thankfully we got that' - Barrett

Donegal U-20 manager Shaun Paul Barrett praised the resilience of his side to keep fighting to the end, despite a strong Cavan fightback last night in Breffni Park in the opening round of the Ulster championship. 

The away side dominated the opening proceedings and guided themselves into a comfortable lead in what looked like was going to be a long and painful evening for the Breffni men. 

But despite Cavan trailing 2-9 to 0-7 points at the break, Larry Reilly’s men would control large amounts of the game in the second half with corner forward Darragh Lovett nailing 0-9 points.  

But Barrett’s men were able to hold on and see the game out to a 2-15 to 0-16 point win. 

“I suppose when you sum up that match you might give the cliche that it was a game of two halves,” said Barrett.  

“We played really well in the first half, we got a lot of decent scores on the board and got on a lot of ball which left us in a good position at half-time, I think we were seven or eight points up at the break.” 

Two early goals from Seanán Carr and then a lucky goal from Patrick McElwee which dropped into the back of the net after the full-forward's long-range shot fell short only to hit off the knee of the Cavan goalkeeper and roll into the net. 

“We were probably slightly lucky with the second goal, it came from a high ball and the Cavan goalkeeper was unfortunate not to control it and drop it into the net, that gave us a good cushion, but we knew at half-time that the game was far from over and that Cavan were going to come out all guns blazing in the second half,” said the Donegal boss. 

“They had some dangerous players, I thought Darragh Lovett inside was excellent for them, he brought his side back into the game and made it a tight affair to bring it back to three points at one stage, but thankfully the lads showed great resilience and kept nailing over the scores. 

“We were a bit disappointed with our performance in the second half, but we were looking for a win and a performance and thankfully we got that.” 

Barrett had particular praise for Donegal senior men Oisin Caulfield and Luke McGlynn who starred for the U-20 side throughout, however, he emphasised the importance of needing a full panel to be firing at all cylinders if they hope to go far in this year’s championship. 

“We know that we have players all over the field that can score, we’re always looking for players that can score all over the pitch and players that are willing to make an impact. We had seven different scorers in that match and two of them played midfield and corner-back so that’s very pleasing too. 

“You can even see with Oisin and Luke tonight, they are up with the senior side at the minute, they’ve played nearly every game in the league and are contributing massively to the team. I think this might be Luke’s second season with the county seniors and you can see the quality of them two are bringing back to the U-20s then. 

“Having said that, it’s not just about them two players, we’re looking at the panel and we want to see that when the going gets tough or we lose a player through injury or whatever, then we have lads competing for places and stepping up to the mark. 

“We were disappointed with the amount of ball and frees we gave away in the second half, maybe Cavan was just hitting a purple patch at that stage. I wouldn’t put it down to us being fatigued, I think we have a lot left in the legs and we would be happy with where we’re at in terms of fitness and workrate. 

But on a night when the Donegal county minors also secured a win over Cavan, Barrett acknowledged that it was the return to inter-county management he was looking for as he finished the night marking gratitude to his side for the work they have put in over the last number of months. 

“I’m always looking forward to working with this side every week, it’s a privilege to be involved with Donegal and seeing these players give their all for the county. We were delighted with the result tonight and now we are waiting for the next game.”