Paddy Carr says that today’s loss in the McKenna Cup to Down is just a start and there’s plenty to build on for Donegal this year.
Carr named a youthful side and rung the changes in the second half, giving county debuts to as many as nine players.
But Carr believes it’s a start for his side and it was a good opportunity to bring some of the younger players in.
“It was frustrating in December not being able to get any meaningful matches so that is a start for us,” Carr said.
“You’re looking for momentum and at the same time looking to blood some young lads in. We had a situation there where we had nine or 10 young lads making their first appearance for Donegal.”
Carr said his side had chances in the game and it could have been much tighter if they took their chances. Another key moment came when referee Maggie Farrelly brought a Donegal advantage back for a free which Conor O’Donnell found the back of the net.
Carr said: “It was a strange decision because he was bearing down on goal and he did put the ball in the net, it would have made the last 15 minutes a lot for competitive than it actually was.
“There was a large amount of chances that we had there right through the first half and well into the second half and I think it would’ve been a much tighter game (had we taken them).”
And despite the result, Carr says it’s a learning curve for his side and he doesn’t want them to be too disappointed with the result.
“You don’t enjoy coming in on the wrong end of those results but at the same time very often in those situations you learn a lot more from them and we’ve taken a good few learning points from that.
“We were a little bit rusty but you have to move forward.”
With the Sigerson Cup starting on Tuesday, Carr says there’s nothing that can be done with the busy schedule and is gearing up for a hectic couple of weeks, with Monaghan on Wednesday and Kerry in the league opener in three weeks.
“We just get on with it, that’s all we can do and I want to wish the lads involved in the Sigerson all well.
“It’s going to be a tough couple of weeks right through the coming months but that’s the game we’re in and we’re going to do our absolute best for Donegal in that regard.”
Watch the full interview with Paddy Carr below:
