Paddy McBrearty delivers honest assessment of Donegal's Ulster final win
Paddy McBrearty has made the victorious walk seven times in his illustrious county career, twice as Donegal's captain.
On Saturday, McBrearty spearheaded his team to consecutive Ulster SFC titles with a nail-biting extra-time win over Armagh by a single point at Clones.
Ascending the steps of the Gerry Arthurs Stand, he lifted the Anglo Celt Cup amidst the roars of thousands of Donegal supporters who flooded the pitch to partake in the festivities.
The Donegal faithful are surely dreaming of McBrearty climbing another set of steps to hoist an even grander trophy later in the summer.
Yet, to conquer that summit, McBrearty admits they must sharpen their ability to seal victories when ahead, having allowed Armagh to erase a seven-point lead before Oisin Conaty's last-gasp leveller pushed the game into extra-time, reports Belfast Live.
"That was serious. . . in the last minute of normal time, we should have had it in the bag," McBrearty reflected.
"It wasn't an easy changing room to go into, but, jeez, thank God a couple of breaks went our way there in extra-time and we got over the line.
"But there's easier ways to win games, and that's probably the next step for us - that's something we're going to have to look at, because we were seven points up.
"We let them back into it through our own mistakes, I felt, especially in our own kick-outs. We weren't winning our kick-outs well. There's a lot of things we can work on."
When queried about what was said by Jim McGuinness in the Donegal dressing room after normal time, McBrearty responded: "I wouldn't repeat it. You couldn't print what was said in there, to be honest!".
Whatever was uttered behind closed doors in the Donegal dressing room seemed to do the trick as, despite trailing twice in extra-time, the reigning champions managed to edge past Kieran McGeeney's side with Niall O'Donnell's point proving decisive.
Armagh departed Clones without the provincial title and haven't clinched Ulster since 2008, but their impressive Championship record remains unbroken with Tyrone being the last team to defeat the Orchard County in normal time during the group stages in 2023.
"They (Armagh) are a serious team, and there's nothing between the teams,"said McBrearty.
"That was Ulster football at its finest. It has been four matches and we've only beaten them once in normal time, so they are a serious, serious outfit.
"Even when we were seven up, we wanted to push harder because we knew that we needed a larger lead - we always anticipated their comeback.
"I have to say, there wasa couple of yearsthere we didn't win anything, especially from 2019 to 2024, so we're delighted
"When these days come, you can't let them go past you."
After securing Ulster last season, Donegal were tipped as potential dark horses for the Sam Maguire, but they were defeated 1-14 to 0-15 by Galway in the semi-final.
Donegal, with another Ulster crown secured, are shaping up to be serious challengers for the All-Ireland title one year on.
Entering the All-Ireland series in a similar fashion to last year, their inaugural match is a home game against Tyrone in Ballybofey, followed by an away game versus Cavan and a neutral venue face-off against Mayo in the rest of the Group One bouts.
Last season witnessed Donegal needing extra time to take down Tyrone in the Ulster semi-final, yet when they clashed during the group phase at MacCumhaill Park, Donegal triumphed with a seven-point margin over the Red Hands.
Tyrone, now steered by Malachy O'Rourke, narrowly missed out on a win against Armagh in Clones earlier this month, having been ahead of the reigning All-Ireland champions by two points towards the end of the provincial semi-final.
Despite Jim McGuinness's flawless record in Championship games against Tyrone, McBrearty is aware of their eagerness for redemption in the All-Ireland series.
"We'll take the learnings from the game - obviously, there's big things to work on," the Donegal captain remarked.
"Listen, Tyrone probably should have beat Armagh. You know, they had it in the bag, really, with a minute to go. They're going to be top opposition as well for us."
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