'I can have nothing but pride in our players and the effort they put in' - Barrett

Donegal U-20 manager Shaun Paul Barrett praised his side’s effort after yesterday’s Ulster semi-final defeat which saw a rejuvenated Derry spring to life in the second half and snatch the victory with the last kick of the game to see them finish one-point victors. 

It’s a painful enough experience when you lose regardless, but to lose in the manner which Donegal did in MacCumhaill Park yesterday must be doubly painful. But the Donegal boss did everything in his power to try and look at the positives of the game and his side’s performance. 

“We were very unlucky, but sometimes you have to make your own luck in life,” Barrett said on the side of the pitch following yesterday’s 1-12 to 0-14 point defeat.  

“I think we prepared well, we thought we were in a really good place going into this game and we were really happy with the first half, but like other games, we didn’t push on in the second half unfortunately.” 

At half-time, Donegal held a three-point lead, buoyed by their strong performance. However, a remarkable resurgence led by Ruairí Forbes and McNicholl propelled Derry forward, with Oisin Doherty's clinical goal in the 33rd minute dramatically shifting the momentum of the game.   

“We knew Derry were going to hit a purple patch,” Barrett said. “We got the first score of the second half, but then they got the goal and were right back in it. We would’ve been disappointed with the manner that we gave scores away in the second half because we always pride ourselves in our defending but in fairness to Derry, they were a strong side. 

“We made a few changes which helped us to get back level and ultimately, we thought the game was going to extra time, but it wasn’t to be.” 

In the dying minutes of the match, just when it seemed that the match was destined for a tense stalemate, Derry conjured a moment of brilliance, securing a dramatic winning point in the dying moments of the game when Donegal were caught off guard from a Derry line ball, giving Ryan McNicholl the space to slot over for the winning point. 

However, despite being obviously the better team in the first half, Barrett admitted his side were warned at the break not to let their guard down, knowing that Derry were not going to lie down easily. 

“Our lads were in great shape and really ready for Derry, they’ve put in a lot of work, but we knew Derry were going to make it difficult. They have players with a lot of underage success, and we knew what they were going to bring, we had plenty of belief in our own players, but in terms of the result, it wasn’t to be. 

“We warned the boys at half time that this game was far from over and that Derry would come strong in the second half and that’s what happened, they hit their purple patch and fair play to Derry, but from our point of view, I can have nothing but pride in our players and the effort they put in to crawl back and stay in the game. 

“You know we just put it down to a kick of a ball, that last minute when Derry had a line ball, and they were able to find space to get out of the corner and get the shot away. I thought the referee would’ve blown it earlier after we hit our equaliser but that’s the way the game fell. 

“I know these lads will certainly learn from this night and hopefully they will bounce back and have plenty of success. These lads had plenty of disappointing days in the past with Donegal, we were hoping that would change but today it unfortunately didn’t.”