O’Donoghue content after UL’s impressive opener

Progression to the McGrath Cup semi-final was the last item on James O’Donoghue’s agenda as he readied himself underneath the Mick Mackey Stand on Sunday afternoon.

Acknowledging UCC stand several steps higher in the colleges pecking order and with final year projects having played havoc with UL’s Christmas training schedule, the Kerry footballer sought nothing more than a credible performance.

Perhaps if the final scoreline was tight, a modicum of momentum could be gained ahead of their Sigerson clash with Queens later this month. Such an outcome, however, would fall very much into the bonus category.

“We only wanted a good performance and we certainly didn’t expect that result,” admitted the 23-year old.

“We rate UCC very highly and they have some really top quality players so we just wanted to come out and do ourselves justice, maybe get some momentum going before our Sigerson game. We have had two or three sessions since Christmas but it was very hard to get everyone together with club teams, county teams, exams and placement.

“Once we started motoring we just said feck it, maybe we can actually win this game. We started scoring freely and we kept that going. We ended up with 5-18 so we can’t complain. We are delighted with both the tally and the win. We thought we would be preparing for our Sigerson game after today, but to have a McGrath Cup semi-final to look forward to is great. Cork are the opposition and it will be another good test.”

O’Donoghue, the contributor of 1-10 over the 70 minutes, points to UL’s scoring brace early in the second half as the game’s key period. Liam Kearns’ outfit found themselves seven in arrears, but instead of accepting their fate, the Limerick students pilfered 2-3 without reply to turn proceedings on its head.

“We went seven down against the blizzard, then it started hailstoning and we needed something to go very right for us. The next thing the ball went across the square, Phelim McHugh got on the end of it and fisted a goal. That turned the tide and we thought we might be able to do something here. We got another goal straightaway through Paul Whyte and we just built from there.

“It is all about building blocks. We just kept scoring and we couldn’t stop scoring in the end. The ground was so heavy that the defenders weren’t getting back on time and it left a lot of open spaces at the back. The forwards seemed to be getting the ball in hand all the time and the shooting was unbelievably accurate. We had only one wide in the second half and that is real good going.

“What makes today’s result all the better is that we were missing Dessie Mone and Offaly’s Eoghan O’Connor. They are big guys for us and we’ll be stronger again with them back.

“The Cork game will be great preparation for the Queens match. You cannot get enough of games at colleges level because of everything going on — exams, placement, final year projects. The more organised games, the better.

“Going up to Belfast are the days you look forward to as a footballer, an away game against top opposition. When you win them, they are the real highs of football. We will go up there and hopefully do a job.”