Karen Guthrie’s 14th season as a Donegal footballer began in dream-like fashion last night.
It was Donegal’s – and Guthrie’s first time at Croke Park since winning the All-Ireland intermediate title in 2010.
Player of the match Karen Guthrie of Donegal is presented with the trophy by Roisin Grogan of Lidl following the Lidl Ladies Football National League Division 1 Round 1 fixture between Dublin and Donegal at Croke Park, Dublin. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
“It’s unbelievable,” Guthrie told Oisin Langan after the win.
“We’re in there asking ourselves what’s just happened. We just came up and wanted to be competitive.
“We knew it would be a huge challenge. We never got beyond our wildest dreams and thought we’d beat them. The girls were super. We couldn’t ask for any better.”
Donegal retained their spot in Division 1 last year before winning an Ulster championship and reaching the county’s first All-Ireland senior semi-final, which they lost to Cork.
Maxi Curran’s panel have bid farewell to several key players, but the new group will certainly be energised by last night’s win.
Guthrie said: “It’s huge. You can’t underestimate it. It’s a serious starting point.
“You don’t know where you’re at until you’re met fire-with-fire. We didn’t know where we stood, but this gives us a wee bit of confidence. This won’t make or break our season, but it’s a nice, positive start.”
Listen to the full interview below …
