BY MATTHEW WILSON
DONEGAL senior ladies defender Sophie McFeely is hoping that they can get over the line against Wexford on Sunday and secure promotion back to Division 1 of the National Football League.
Donegal have enjoyed a solid league campaign to date however, they suffered defeat in their last encounter as they lost out narrowly to Tipperary in Clonmel.
Having recorded a fine victory away to Mayo in their previous contest, it was a performance that McFeely stated that they were disappointed with but is hoping that they can regroup now ahead of their final league clash.
“It was a disappointing one because we can play better, that’s what’s so disappointing. I think when we played against Mayo, we had a great team out and we played very well.
“I’m not sure what happened against Tipperary and we’re very disappointed with that. We should have come away with a draw at least, we were our own biggest enemies that day.
“It wasn’t the nicest now but hopefully we can pick things up again now against Wexford and hopefully win that.”
New rule changes have been trialled in this year’s National Ladies Leagues, with them allowing for more free flowing and attacking games.
However, Donegal have performed superbly on the defensive front to date in the competition. They have conceded 3-40 in their six outings so far, possessing the best defensive record out of all the sides in division.
McFeely is part of this defensive unit, operating at corner-back for Donegal, and she expressed that it’s an aspect of their play that they work on a lot.
“We do have a very strong defensive unit and we have Claire (Friel) then in goals, we’re glad to have her back there. She makes some great saves for us and saves us a few times.
“I’d say we are very strong in the backline and we practice that a lot. We know where each other are meant to be and communication is very important in that. We know to shout at each other where to go and we practice that plenty.”
As well as the attacking side of the game, the new rules that are being trialled have also altered the defensive side of things by allowing for more aggressive tackling.
Speaking to the Donegal News, the St Eunan’s clubwoman discussed that this is an aspect of the changes that she enjoys but feels that there are occasions where the old rules may still be lingering in the back of the teams minds.
“It’s definitely more physical and I do enjoy it. The three back and three up is tough defensively because sometimes you do want to run up the line and support your teammate but you have to stay back or you’ll get called for a breach.
“The aggressiveness is something we do enjoy, it’s nice to be able to bring that now because I think it was a bit soft beforehand.
“I think we can be more aggressive. I feel that sometimes we still think about the old rules, still going by that and we don’t think we can tackle as hard as we can now.”
Despite last Sunday’s defeat to the Premier County in Clonmel, James Daly’s outfit are still in pole position to gain the second of the two promotion places as we enter the final weekend of the league.
Donegal haven’t participated in Division 1 of the National Football League since their relegation in 2023 and with a youthful panel in place, some of the squad members may never have experienced football in the top tier.
McFeely stated that it would be great for the young group to achieve promotion this weekend and be able to challenge themselves against the top teams in the country next term.
“It would be. We’re a young team and we’re still developing but the young girls are unreal. We’re all working together and building that team together so hopefully in a few years we can be challenging the top teams. It would be nice to get up there and challenge the top teams.”
What lies between Donegal and a place in Division 1 is Wexford who will be making the trip to Letterkenny this Sunday for the last round of the National Football League.
The Leinster outfit are yet to record a point in the competition and are positioned at the bottom of the Division 2 table.
Despite this, McFeely discussed that her side can’t take a win for granted when Wexford make the long trip up but she’s hoping that home advantage can provide an advantage for them this weekend.
“We’re feeling good. Obviously we don’t want to be complacent with it, you can’t expect to win it just because they are bottom of the table.
“It’s nice to have it at home. They have to travel up and we will have the home crowd behind us. It’s in O’Donnell Park as well so that’s my club ground. It’s always nice to play there and have a few familiar faces around.”
Posted: 7:53 am March 27, 2026
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