BUNCRANA GOALKEEPER Harry Doherty admits that he has had some adapting to do as he settles into the role in Gaelic football.
Doherty (pictured by Evan Logan) has been a soccer number 1 for some years, but has recently returned to Buncrana’s ranks.
This weekend, Doherty will be between the posts as Buncrana face Letterkenny Gaels in the Junior Championship final.
Having had stints at Charlton Athletic and Brighton, Doherty returned home and spent a few months at Finn Harps. With Ciaran Gallagher firmly established at Finn Park, Doherty headed for Carrick Rangers and in May he kept a clean sheet as Cruasders won the Irish Cup final.
Doherty signed a two-year deal at Crusaders last summer, but left Seaview in August.
Now, as he ponders his next move, he’s quite content to man the square for Buncrana.
“I’m just going to focus on the Gaelic for now,” he says.
“I want us to go as far as we can in the Junior. We have our eyes only on the final for now and that’s the only focus.
“I’ve only come back in this summer. I spoke to Malachy (McCann, Buncrana manager) about coming back. It’s good getting back to a sport that I love playing. I’m enjoying every minute so far.
“It’s a very big change People might think it’s the same thing, goalkeeping in the two sports, but it’s completely different. I want to take the good traits from football and playing senior level into the Gaelic.”
Doherty played for the Republic of Ireland at underage level and was picked up at a young age by Charlton.
He watched from afar last year as Buncrana were relegated from the intermediate championship and the odds have been stacked for the Scarvey men at Junior level this time around, despite their relegation from Division 2 in this year’s League.
“Everyone had Buncrana down as favourites, but we didn’t take any of that on,” Doherty says.
“It has just been taking each game as it comes.
“Getting relegated down in the league was disappointing, but the eyes were always on the Championship. We wanted to send out a message from the group that, while we’re in the Junior, we’re definitely not going to stay here.”
On Saturday, Buncrana saw off St Mary’s Convoy with John Campbell kicking 1-7 as the Inishowen side booked a place in the final.
“John’s a great player,” Doherty says.
“He’s a great man to have in there. He’s a great unit to hit with long balls.
“John had a great chance and took it. We wanted to keep it nice and compact after that. We kept it good and saw the game out.
“It was a very good team performance. It was a very disciplined performance.
“We knew coming into the game that it would be tough. Convoy are hard to break down. They’re a tough team. Throughout the game, we kept the shape and a good tempo.”
The winter may bring offers from another sport, but the presence of Donegal manager Declan Bonner and his goalkeeping coach Andrew McGovern at O’Donnell Park at the weekend could mean a similar call to that which Shaun Patton received two years ago.
His career so far, though, has taught him not to gaze too far into the distance.
He says: “Obviously if an offer came in I’d have a look at it, but I’ll just see how the Gaelic goes for me for a while now.”
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