Dessie Gallagher is delighted his Dungloe side have a chance at making the Ulster final and hopes they can overcome Galbally Pearses on Sunday.
The Donegal side beat Dunloy in the quarter-final but were 0-6 to 0-3 down at half-time but came out strong in the second half, and won by 1-11 to 0-7 as Dunloy went down to 14 men.
And Gallagher knows his side must turn up from the referee’s whistle if they wish to become the first Donegal Intermediate club to reach the Ulster final since Realt Na Mara in 2015.
But while the Ulster Championship is the full focus, Gallagher says they were only focused on returning to the Senior Championship this year and everything else is a bonus.
“It’s brilliant to be there,” Gallagher said.
“When we started out the year, our plan was to try and win Donegal and we did that, we never even thought of Ulster.
“We weren’t thinking that far ahead all we wanted to do was to get back to Senior Championship but there’s a good buzz around the town and the boys are buzzing to get playing more football and hopefully we can keep that going after next week but we know the task ahead of us, these are going to be the best team we’ve played, they’re a serious team.
“They feel they’re senior players and hopefully we can show that on Sunday and prove that we should be in the Senior Championship.
“If they play to their best any day, they’re in with a chance but we know it’s going to have to be a top performance.”
A shorter trip to Derry this week for a double header at Celtic Park in Derry is in store, and Gallagher hopes to see more of the Dungloe supporters that came out in big numbers last week in ‘the middle of nowhere’ and says it’s great for the players to see that support.
Listen to Dessie’s full interview with Charlie Collins below: