Mel O’Donnell and Burt continuing to find the right mix
Burt's footballers progressed to the U-21C Championship final on Saturday with team manager Mel O'Donnell saying his panel is benefitting from involvement in both hurling and the Inishowen League
Burt team manager Mel O’Donnell hailed the versatility of his men after their County U-21C semi-final win over Naomh Ultan.
O’Donnell guided Burt to a Donegal U-21 C title in 2019 and is hoping to repeat that feat this year and they put themselves into the final again with a 2-11 to 0-3 victory.
“I am delighted as any day you are in a semi- final and you get through to a final is great,” he said. “I said to the boys before the game that nobody remembers the semi- finalists, so we needed to win here. We knew after about 20 minutes that we were pretty much in control.
“But we have things to work on as we felt that for the first ten minutes of the second half things got a bit sloppy for us and we emptied the bench as well. There is always room for improvement”.
Burt hit two killer goals courtesy of emerging star Shayne Gallagher to seal the deal.
“He hit two great goals and a point, and he is still a minor and that will certainly help his confidence,” O’Donnell added. “We are under no illusions as we will face a tough task in the final. “We won the C competition in 2019 and then Covid came”.
Once again the big three stood up for Burt as dual stars Liam Óg McKinney, Conor Gartland and marksman Keith McColgan really stamped their authority on matters.
“The hurling gives us a massive boost and you can see it on Liam Óg McKinney and Conor Gartland,” O’Donnell added. “Another advantage we have is the number of quality soccer players we also have in our ranks, and they play in the Inishowen League with Aileach, who are a quality side.
“A lot of them are playing college football in Derry and in Belfast as well and they are in great shape. They are a big team, but their first touch is very good too. We have a strong squad with around 24 players and a lot of them are keen to get a start which is healthy.
“Football is going well in Burt and the senior and reserve teams got promotion and went unbeaten in their league. We didn’t field a reserve team for a few years, but the decision to field a reserve team again has benefits as it gives young lads like these badly needed football.
“We have a bounce back from the adult success and we have four or five seniors on this team and four or five reserves which is a good mix. That is very important”.