By Michael McMullan

FOUR Masters have won their third Donegal minor championship in a row and take the field on St Stephen’s Day with their Ulster title again on the line.

After being hit by the Dungiven’s late burst in the final two years ago the Donegal Town side returned to win the title at St Paul’s in January.

They are back bidding to retain the cup but it’s been far from an easy path.

With the title of champions comes the target on their back. It’s par for the course.

A Gaoth Dobhair team, laced with county minors, comprehensively beat them in the group stages down in Magheragallan.

Four Masters won the rest of their games but they needed to dig deep, no more so than in the final when Naomh Conaill tied the game in the closing stages.

“We just managed to keep our composure and get two scores on the board to win by two points,” said Greg Doherty, who manages the team with Odie McBride.

“As it worked out, it was the same players this year with the (minor) grade moved up from u-17 to u-18.

“In the county, the championship this year was definitely harder won than it was last year.

“There’s a target on our back, due to our success,” Doherty added. “Every team lifts themselves when they meet you and lads are really fired up to play you.”

Winning the Donegal championship with the same team, against the same teams, due to the change from u-17 to u-18, cemented the Four Masters’ consistency.

“That’s what you need in your county championship in order to then be competitive in Ulster,” Doherty added.

“We’ve had competitive county championships over the last two years. That’s what it’s all about, you’re battle-hardened.”

The initial plans of preparing for Ulster were put on hold with the majority of their team doubling up as the Abbey MacRory Cup team who had advanced to the quarter-finals.

The older players were also involved in the club’s u-21 success.

Four Masters’ minors were crowned Ulster champions on Monday

“We literally had to sit back and do nothing there,” Doherty said of their collective minor preparations.

“We only got together collectively the week before the Scotstown game.”

It’s the same narrative every club minor manager rolls out at this time of the year. A balance between club and school.

The advantage here is that all but two of the Abbey team are from Four Masters. They’ve a bank of playing together in big games to draw on.

Two goals from Thomas Lenahan had Four Masters in the driving seat against Scotstown who hit a late goal to leave it a nervous finale in a 3-7 to 3-6.

Now they play Cookstown. Four Masters had eyes on their extra time win over Mayobridge.

Cookstown had to come from behind in their finals to win the Tyrone league and championship double.  Doherty knows what’s coming. He thinks back to Dungiven hitting them for a late goal.

“To be eight points down with 10 minutes to go is a different kettle of fish,” he said of Cookstown’s comeback in the championship final with Eglish.

“They were by far the better team (against Mayobridge) in the second half, up until the last five minutes.

“Mayobridge managed to get extra time out of it. From then, there was only one team in it.

“We know they’re going to be good opposition. Any team coming out as champions out of Tyrone, we know the pedigree they have at underage level.”

In days gone by, Donegal were just onlookers in terms of the Ulster Schools’ scene.

They’ve now two teams in the last eight of the MacRory Cup. The Abbey team has a core of Four Masters players.

The South West Donegal side is based around clubs like Doherty’s native Naomh Columba, Gaoth Dobhair, Killybegs and Kilcar.

From their own point of view, Four Masters can see the benefits of having their players operating at a higher level for longer in the season.

“What we find is that when you play the cream of the crop in Ulster, whether it’s at school level or at club level, you really have to up your game,” he said.

“You have to up the ante, players, management and the club. That just improves players, improves clubs and, ultimately, we’ll improve the county.”

There are 13 Four Masters players on the Abbey starting team. They’ve a MacLarnon Cup and All-Ireland B title under their belt. Now it’s up a notch in the MacRory Cup.

“These boys have grown up playing with each other,” Doherty adds. “They’ve spent the last 10 years playing with each other in their club team, there’s that many of them involved.”

There is a togetherness in the group and they’ve experienced both sides of the emotion at St Paul’s.

There was the pain of losing in the closing stages against Dungiven to the elation of coming back from the brink to beat Magherafelt on the way to last year’s title.

They’ll know that Thursday brings another stiff test. They face a Cookstown team who’ve had to dig deep in crunch games.

Four Master have the confidence from having won the Ulster title already. A taste of mixing with the top teams.

“For the club, it’s obviously the first ever Ulster Championship the club has won,” Doherty added.

“That was celebrated and lauded as well and after we won it, we went around all the primary schools.

“You would like to think that there will be a knock-on effect of young boys and girls coming behind this group.

“You’d hope they will want to be successful and they’ll also see that if you work hard enough and you train hard enough and you practice your skills that you can have huge success.”

That’s one side of the club’s side. The other is coping with being at the top.

“You can’t just show up and expect a team to just lie down, just because you’re Donegal and Ulster champions,” Doherty said.

“Everybody is doing their utmost to try to get the better of you, in the one on one’s and the whole way around the pitch. That’s the biggest change.”

The Four Masters mantra is to keep on trucking. The same as last year. Doherty used the ‘R’ word.

Respect themselves, respect the management and respect the opponent.

“That goes a long way in trying to keep their feet on the ground,” he added.

“They’re young fellas after all, so we try to instil good values. It doesn’t just happen; it can be gone in the blink of an eye if you don’t work on it. That’s what it’s all about with us.”