'We weren't at the races for the first 45 minutes' - Donegal minor boss Barry Ward

Donegal minor manager Barry Ward credited the effort of his side in the second half following their 2-8 to 1-7 defeat to Armagh in the Ulster minor semi-final but admits the large lead they gave Aidan O’Rourke’s side in the first 30 minutes left them with too high of a mountain to climb. 

It was a disappointing day for the U-17 team in Ballyshannon, with two second-half goals from Armagh proving to be the difference, with the Orchard County now gearing themselves up to face Derry in the Ulster minor decider. 

Ward’s assessment of the game following the match in Fr Tierney Park, there was a sense of ‘what could’ve been’. 

“I think we showed our true self in the last 15 minutes of the match,” said the Aodh Ruadh man and Donegal player. “It was good to see the lads had a go in the end, but for the first 45 minutes, we weren’t at the races. 

“We were very static and needed to make a few tackles, but we didn’t really do it. We spoke about it at half time, but we were still a bit shy of getting stuck in.  

“On our performance, we didn’t deserve it, we didn’t deserve to win the game. We congratulate Armagh, they had a great start and took advantage of us, and best of luck to them in the final.” 

With Armagh cruising on an 0-8 to 0-3 point scoreline at the break, Ward was pleased to see the comeback from his green and gold side in the final 30 minutes of the game. But the two crucial goals in the second half were all Armagh needed to advance despite Donegal’s late purple patch. 

“I felt we should’ve been dead and buried at half time, but we were still in the game and that’s what we tried to get across to the lads. Anybody of that standard looks good when there’s no pressure so we wanted our lads to get up and get right into their faces. We needed to apply a bit of pressure and that took us a while,” Ward admitted. 

“That started to happen and eventually we started to turnover ball, some of our shot selection in the second half, maybe we needed more patience and maybe we could’ve had another pass inside which would’ve made it a bit closer, but look, all we can say is fair play to Armagh. 

“We were asking the question, what happened in the first half? I think we let them out very easily and we were sloppy in possession too, but whatever it was, we just weren’t on it in the first half.” 

While the two Armagh goals were a killer to Donegal’s confidence, Ward admits that they weren’t overly a disappointing feature because they were committing bodies forward and it was a risk worth taking to try and crawl back into the match. 

“They exploited us twice and got goals and that’s what happens when you commit lads forward, that’s part of it, you can’t criticise when you’re trying to push lads forward and get back into the game, but the lads' effort in the second half has to be commended,” he said. 

“When you do get an overlap and you do get a chance, you need to make sure you get it into the scoring zone. At times we didn’t take that other pass, we just needed a bit more control and composure, if we took an extra second on the ball, I think we could’ve crawled back a few more points but look . . . ifs and buts.”