BY CHRIS MCNULTY

GAA - RTE Raidio na Gaeltachta Senior Football Championship, Preliminary Round First Leg

EAMON O'Boyle gets his first taste of Senior Championship action on Sunday evening as St Eunan's manager and the Ballina native could hardly have asked for a tougher start as he prepares to lead the black and amber into the defence of Dr.Maguire.

Neighbours Glenswilly make the short trek to O'Donnell Park for a repeat of the 2007 decider that saw Eunan's clinch the title at the expense of the men from just across the parish divide - for O'Boyle, he knows all too well what is in store this weekend, despite it being his maiden voyage into the waters of the Senior Championship.

The St Eunan's team that lines out on Sunday is likely to closely resemble that which collected the Dr Maguire on September's final Sunday. Benny Roche is a long-term absentee, but thereafter O'Boyle is likely to have a fully fit arsenal ready to tackle Glenswilly in what is easily the tie of the round.

Last year's skipper John Haran missed Saturday's win over Glenfin with an ankle injury, but should be okay to feature while the new captain Brendan Devenney is also expected to play despite having a re-occurrence of a troublesome stomach muscle injury in the last couple of weeks.

Haran and Devenney, along with Damien McClafferty, who was also absent for the Glenfin victory, are all expected to start on Sunday.

The new boss, who takes over the double-winners from Brendan Kilcoyne, spoke to the Donegal News this week and explained that although confidence was high in the camp he was aiming to strike a balance to ensure an air of complacency isn't over them.

He said: "I wouldn't say that anyone is overconfident because we are expecting a tough battle on Sunday.

"What has happened in the past is in the past and we just can't wait for this game to happen now. It is probably a game that you could do without at this time of year, but that is what has been thrown to us and we just have to get on with it.

"It is going to be one hell of a battle and it is certainly a tough one to start with.

"It is just getting the balance right for us this week. We have to tap into the positive side of everything. Obviously we won't be going out saying that we can't win, because you have to have a certain amount of confidence.

"They have so many good players on their team and are capable of beating anyone on their day. We have to be ready for that."

Eunan's have won three out of four League games thus far with the only blot on the copybook a defeat to Four Masters a fortnight ago. They got back on track with a 2-14 to 2-07 win over Glenfin on Saturday night, when a tally of 1-4 from young Paddy McGowan was instrumental.

Much will depend on the form of the 18-year old on Sunday evening, but with Conall Dunne, Brendan Devenney and David McGinley around him in the front six and with scores of late flying over from wing-back, where Ciaran Greene, Ciaran Sharkey or Mark McGowan could well be stationed.

County men Rory Kavanagh and Kevin Rafferty could start at midfield, where a hotly contested battle with Neil Gallagher and Ciaran Bonner could ensue.

Having released the shackles of the tag of perennial underachievers in 2007, the black and amber will be looking for further success this time out - and the new manager is aware of the expectations in the Cathedral Town.

"There is fair pressure there," he noted. "It is certainly a tough act to follow, but we will do the best we can and the players are really working hard and have adapted well to things that we are doing differently.

"We had a disappointing defeat to Four Masters recently, but it was good to get a win under the belt on Saturday. That win will mean nothing on Sunday, though, because the form book just goes out the window and the Championship is a totally different ball game.

"Training is going well for us and the boys are looking forward to it. We all know its a repeat of the County Final, but we just have to operate now as best we can. As soon as the draw was made, we knew that this was what we were gearing towards.

"It's up to us to prove that we're ready."

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