DONEGAL ARE FIGHTING for their Allianz Hurling League Division 2b lives with a do-or-die play-off against Roscommon on Saturday in Ballina, 5pm.
Ardal McDermott’s team have finished bottom of their division and lost the play-off for last spot against Wicklow last week, but have one more chance to save themselves tomorrow against the side who topped Division 3A.
The Donegal manager (pictured above by Geraldine Diver) had targetted picking up something from the early-season encounters but having fallen just short against Mayo and then Armagh ended up with no points on the table, with one particularly disappointing loss against Meath, 2-35 to 0-9.
“We went to Meath with 20 or 21 players and got an absolute trimming,” McDermott said. “But it’s a building exercise. We resigned ourselves to the relegation play-off. The reality is we’re in the position we expected to be, in the relegation play-off but we are improving and a lot of our season hinges on Saturday.
“Roscommon won the Nicky Rackard last season and beat Armagh in the final. They’re in a very good position and winning is a habit. They’ll be coming to Ballina thinking they can overcome Donegal.
“For us, we have to show a great resolve. There’s a lot of work being put in and I think we deserve a result on Saturday. We’re not going down to get beat. Our goal was to stay in 2B and we’re still in a position where we can do that.”
Listen to McDermott’s interview with Charlie Collins below …
https://soundcloud.com/donegalsporthub-club-notes/donegal-hurling-manager-ardal-mcdermott-before-roscommon-play-off
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