Donegal face Armagh tonight in the under-20 Ulster quarter-final at MacCumhaill Park tonight with throw-in at 8pm and it’s been all go for the under-20 captain Kieran Tobin.
Tobin, who plays at senior level with St. Eunan’s, believes the strength of Gary Duffy’s Donegal under-20 side means there is not much difference in the standard and intensity between senior club football and the under-20 county level.
Tobin said: “The club level at senior football is an unbelievable standard but for the age group we’re at and the group that’s coming through, we’ve seen in previous years at Monaghan and Tyrone the calibre of players they had but there’s plenty of top players and when you put them all together it’s a very strong team.”
The Donegal Under-20 side that won the Leo Murphy Cup in March
Tobin is the captain of the side and also captained the minor side before, so he has plenty of experience in leading the team out, and credits his St. Eunan’s club mates as having a positive impact on his leadership ability.
“Coming into the senior panel there’s a lot of players like Conor O’Donnell, Eamon Doherty, Caolan Ward and Shaun Patton, looking at them boys, who were players at the top of their game at the top level, that no matter what when you went into training they were understanding.
“I learned a lot from them men alone, they’d be standout figures from the club that really have shown me the leadership skills you need to develop and have going forward.”