Kinawley manager Mark Monaghan and Tempo counterpart Sean Breen are both expecting a tough encounter when the sides meet in the Kevin Courtney Car Sales IFC Final at Brewster Park on Saturday September 24.
The Brian Borus overcame Lisnaskea in a close contest on Sunday evening and he is expecting another big test against the Maguires in the final.
“”Obviously they’re a first division team and while they hadn’t been going well in the league they’ve got a lot of players back from injury now and will be a very tough test for us. They won the senior championship three years ago, so we’re under no illusions about what we’re up against,” he said.
Monaghan though was delighted with the semi-final win and the prizes that come with it.
“You could see what it meant to us at the final whistle. The prize wasn’t only getting to a final it also means we play senior championship football next year, so there was two prizes on offer.”
On his side’s performance, he added: “The wind made a difference for both teams, their early goal put us on the back foot and playing against the wind in the first half meant we had our work cut out. We will need to improve on our shooting.”
Tempo had sealed their place in the final a day earlier when they finished strongly to edge out Maguiresbridge. Tempo have now had two tough games against Enniskillen and a narrow win over Maguirebridge and Breen expects the decider to be another tight affair.
“I don’t think there will be much between the sides. Kinawley looked sharp against Lisnaskea and they came on strong in the final ten minutes. But it is a final and I would expect it to go to the wire and hopefully the three tough games that we have had will stand to us.”.
Breen is also delighted that Tempo will be back playing in the senior championship next season.
“I think it’s important to be back in the senior championship but after a tough season it is also nice to be in a final. We have a few lads coming back, Ryan Keenan played his first game of the season on Saturday night, and we have now two weeks to get ready for the final,” he commented.