McFadden’s memorable week ends on a high

Colm McFadden rounded off a memorable week, during which his first son was born, by kicking five points on Sunday to help Donegal to their third successive Ulster final.

Creeslough native McFadden and his wife Levina, who have a one-year-old daughter, Maisie, celebrated the birth of baby Matthew on Wednesday evening.

Then, on Sunday the St Michael’s forward put in an excellent performance at Breffni Park in Cavan in the win over Down.

“It was a good week all around,” 30-year-old McFadden said with a grin after the 0-12 to 0-9 victory. “It was a bit of a rush on Wednesday and we’ve all heard these stories about people stopping on the side of the road but thankfully it never came to that!

“The baby was due on Tuesday and I was wondering the closer to the weekend it got, I might’ve had to put a phone in my sock if it came to the day of the match.

“But at 8.15pm on Wednesday evening, Matthew was born. I was watching Maisie for the rest of the week but Levina got home on Saturday and both she and Matthew were well.

“As for the game, Down made it really tough for us. We just couldn’t shake them off and we worked very hard for one another. That’s what took us over the line. It was hard to get on the ball never mind swing a boot but that’s what you expect from Ulster football.”