Derrygonnelly manager Martin Greene could not speak highly enough of his players following Sunday’s defeat to Slaughtneil in Celtic Park.
When the sides met last year there was 18 points dividing the sides but on Sunday Derrygonnelly made the Derry champions work hard for their win with only two points separating the sides as the clock ticked towards the 60th minute.
With the Harps reduced to 14 men following the sending off of Paul Ward midway through the second half, it was Slaughtneil who finished the game stronger and three late points put a gloss on the scoreline for Mickey Moran’s side as they eventually finished up 0-12 to 0-07 winners.
Greene though could not fault the effort of his players.
“I’m immensely proud of the players,” said the Harps boss.
 “The boys put in a tremendous effort over the course of the game. It was a massive difference from last year, our defensive shape was good and we were disappointed not to win. 
“We went down to 14 men and it was hard to maintain that effort but the boys kept going and we were only two down with a couple of minutes to go before they tagged on a few late points.
“Slaughtneil are one of the top teams in the country but our aim was to improve on last year and we did improve. We wanted to win and we just fell short but I couldn’t be prouder of the players,” he stated.
Central to Derrygonnelly’s improvement in Ulster this year was the defensive system they set up with. 
Last year they shipped 4-13 to Slaughtneil but that was not the case this time around as they got men behind the ball and made life difficult for the Derry side. Indeed, if a few more of the chances that the Harps carved open had been taken then it might have been an even more interesting outcome.
“On any given day you look at the system and if one isn’t working you have to look at another one, that’s the reality of it. We all try and improve, myself included, and we wanted to learn the lessons from last year, which I think we did
“We missed a few chances and maybe the referee was a bit harsh on one or two things but that’s Ulster Club football and you have to take your chances or they will come back to haunt you at the end of the game. 
“You need to be accurate at this level of football,” said the Harps manager.
Greene though believes that there is still more to come from this group if they are willing to continue working hard.
“They are well able to compete at this level and that showed for 50 or 55 minutes on Sunday against a side who are one of the best in the country, never mind Ulster. 
“The players can take great heart from that but they still need to improve and keep working and as a club we’ll continue to try and improve,” he commented.
It has been a successful two years in charge for Greene with Derrygonnelly cleaning up all before them in the county with two league and two championship titles but he hopes that the players will remain hungry for more.
“It’s been a great two years,” he said. 
“When you can say you won a double double within your own county, it’s something to be proud of. It’s a big achievement for the players and something they can look back on with pride. Hopefully though they are not just happy with that and they want to push on and win more things.”