Peter Doherty knows Sunday’s second leg demands nothing short of Inishowen's best
Inishowen face a tough test in Ballyare against the Donegal League as they aim to progress in the Oscar Traynor Cup
Inishowen League player Peter Doherty knows that his side can take nothing for granted as they make their way to Ballyare this Sunday for their second-round tie against last year’s Oscar Traynor semi-finalists the Donegal League.
Matters ended deadlocked at 2-2 last month at a rain-soaked Maginn Park where Diarmuid O’Brien’s hosts had the better of the second-half exchanges after an evenly contested first period, but a goal apiece either side of the break left matters all square coming into this weekend’s match.
For Doherty and his Inishowen teammates, it’s a game they must be up for from the start.
“I think we saw the last day, even though it ended 2-2, I thought we controlled much of the possession and probably had more chances too,” Doherty told Donegal Live.
“It also showed just how dangerous the Donegal League side can be and really, they could’ve grabbed another goal on the day and won the game, so we’ll be taking nothing for granted.”
Last year’s fixture in Ballyare will no doubt bring back memories for Doherty and his teammates when they entered the second-leg tie trailing 3-2, but a 1-1 draw away from home was not enough as the Donegal League side led at the time by John Francis Doogan advanced in the competition.
For Doherty, the task of travelling away from home does not have an overall factor in this tie. He’s looking at nothing more than a victory.
“I don’t really think the fact that we’ll be playing in Ballyare has a huge impact,” Doherty said. “It’s only up the road and no doubt there will be good support there for ourselves, the exact same way that Donegal had good support in Maginn Park last month, I just hope that the surface will be a bit better.
“In the first leg, the conditions were really bad and probably had an impact on the game, but that’s stuff you just have to deal with.”
The Inishowen side have not had the opportunity to meet since their 2-2 draw last month with the Christmas break wedged in between, but it doesn’t affect their drive to try and do well in this Oscar Traynor contest, but know the task this weekend will be a tough one.
“We unfortunately haven’t been meeting up at all over Christmas. Of course, people have a lot of stuff on especially with their own clubs, so it’s hard to get together, but we’re training this week and we’re trying to get everything in order and be ready for Sunday’s tie,” Doherty pointed out.
“The Oscar Traynor Cup is something we always want to do well in but we know how hard it is because to even come out of the county you have to beat a really good Donegal League side who got to the semi-final of the competition last season.
“You might not meet a team as good as the Donegal League side deep into the competition, so it’s important to be up for that game from the start because it really is a crucial tie where you have two top teams and only one makes it through but that’s just the nature of the beast.”