GARY O’NEILL praised St Michael’s character after they shook off a horror start to defeat Ardara last night – but warned his men they can’t afford to go to sleep again.
With just seven minutes on the clock at Pearse Park, St Michael’s trailed Ardara 2-3 to 0-1, but they hit back to win a thrilling contest 4-18 to 2-10.
“It was a big wakening call to the Championship,” O’Neill told Donegal Daily/Donegal Sport Hub after the game.
“We have to be quicker out of the blocks next week. We just started slow and the black card for Michael ‘Rock’ took time to recover from.
“You don’t want to be in that situation against Gaoth Dobhair or St Eunan’s. The boys showed good character. When your backs are to the wall you have to put in that shift.”
St Michael’s hit 3-9 in a row to lead at half-time and they ran out 14-point winners.
These teams were paired with Gaoth Dobhair and St Eunan’s in the so-called ‘group of death’. St Michael’s will host Gaoth Dobhair and St Eunan’s at The Bridge.
O’Neill added: “We know it’s the group of death. We’ve been written out of it. We have to put in a bigger push and the boys know that they have a heap of work ahead of them.”
Listen to the full interview below …
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