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Diver's
bad break before Down clash - 23/06/03 2003
All-Ireland Qualifer
Down
v Donegal 
@ 4.15 p.m. Clones, Sat 26th July 2003
Donegal
manager Brian McEniff must plan without his experienced defender Damien Diver
for Saturday evening's All-Ireland SF qualifier against Down in Clones. Diver
fractured a finger while tackling in a practice match over the weekend and has
been ruled out of action for at least three weeks. Diver was Donegal's best defender
against Tipperary in the last rounds, and his absence could be a real blow to
Donegal's prospects. But Mark Crossan and Noel McGinley
are fit again after recent injuries. Crossan who was last years captain has been
out of action for longer than McGinley with a serious knee injury but both players
will be in the frame when McEniff finalises his selection tomorrow night. Noel
McGinley is the most obvious replacement, but he may still be struggling with
a hamstring injury which ruled him out of Donegals last game against Tipperary.
"I'll remember this as the year of injuries," sighed McEniff. "We've also lost
James Ruane who turned on an ankle while playing with St Vincent's in Dublin."
But McEniff is still clinging to the prospect of back-to-back
All-Ireland quarter-final appearances for Donegal. "It would mean so much for
the county to win this game, not just for the team. We've got club football back
on track after a difficult year and this would really make things," he revealed.
McEniff admitted he left last Sunday's Ulster final replay 10 minutes before the
end. "Which is the real Down?" he asked. "I'm taking it that it's the team that
almost won an Ulster title only seven days earlier."
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