Battle for the New York Cup begins

Editorial Department • Published 5 Aug 2010 16:30 0 Comments

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Enniskillen v Kinawley

The championship action gets underway on Friday night with an all Division Two clash as Enniskillen take on Kinawley in Lisnaskea.

Gerry Love's Gaels side will be fancied to book a quarter-final meeting with Erne Gaels although Kinawley will have been boosted by their recent victory over Enniskillen in the league.

Enniskillen had started the league in fine form but have been less convincing in their last two games as they narrowly defeated Maguiresbridge before that seven point loss to Kinawley in their last outing.

That reversal though should mean that there will be no complacency in the Gaels ranks on Friday night and they will feel that if they play to their potential then they will be able to see off the Brian Borus.

"They beat us in the league and on the day they were the better team, but we would hope to turn that around, and our previous results suggest we can do that. We would be confident enough that we have the ability to win the game but we have to make sure that we match Kinawley's commitment and effort," said Love.

Kinawley have had a mixed bag of results in the league and have struggled to build on their Intermediate Championship success last year.

Cathal Murphy's side have suffered with injuries and players moving away and although they produced a good performance to beat Enniskillen they lost heavily to St. Pat's in their next game.

Kinawley will be without the likes of Tomas Corrigan, Matthew Drumm and Gareth Owens on Friday night but they will be able to call upon county man Niall Bogue who is the lynchpin of their defence.

At midfield they will require big performances from both Sean Leonards while in attack Ruairi Corrigan can be relied on to win his fair share of possession although there is a big reliance on Shaun Doherty for scores.

Murphy accepts that his side will be the underdogs on Friday night but he is still hopeful that they will be able to put it up to the Gaels.

"The Gaels will be favourites and they have a strong tradition in championship football and a lot of experienced players. This though is our last chance of the season as the league is gone for us so we'll be going there to give it a rattle," he said.

The Gaels also have their absentees with Kevin Gunn and Colm Bradley among the players who they will be missing, but it would appear they have more aces up their sleeve.

Mickey Lilly and Ryan McCluskey bring experience to the defence while Tom Brewster and Aidan McCarron have formed a good understanding at midfield.

They will look to pick up enough ball in the middle third and for the likes of Mattie Keenan and Ronan McCabe to get the scores to take them into the

next round.

Derrygonnelly v Newtownbutler

The championship fayre moves to Tempo on Saturday night as Derrygonnelly begin the defence of their title against 2007 championship winners Newtownbutler.

Vinnie Connolly's Newtown outfit have slipped up lately following a bright opening to their league campaign although the First Fermanagh's usually prove to be stern opposition in the championship and this should be a close encounter.

Derrygonnelly surprised many in lifting the New York Cup in 2009 and this year they could again be among the main contenders for silverware.

Sean Flanagan's side have a good mixture of youth and experience and they go into the championship having found some good form which has taken them into the top four in the league.

Recent league wins over Teemore and Erne Gaels will send the Harps into the championship in a confident frame of mind and they would appear to be the better balanced of the two sides although Derrygonnelly assistant manager Peter Jones is wary of the threat posed by Newtown.

"No matter who you get in the championship it is never going to be easy. Newtown are always there or thereabouts and they are always a tough team to beat," said Jones.

Newtown manager Vinnie Connolly feels that his side have nothing to lose on Saturday evening.

"There is no pressure on us. They are the champions and will be going is as favourites so we'll have nothing to lose," he stated.

Derrygonnelly are strong defensively through the likes of Michael Jones and Daniel Ward and they will feel that if they can restrict the influence of Newtown's two county men, Ryan Carson and James Connolly, then they will be halfway to making it through to the last eight.

Connolly would seem to have benefited from spending a year in the county panel and has been excellent in recent league games while Carson is always a threat whether he lines up at full forward or at midfield.

If these two players are given time and space then they will cause a lot of problems for Derrygonnelly while Newtown will also look for Colum Monahan and Brendan McBrien to chip in with scores.

The midfield battle will be crucial and Newtown, who have sorely missed the injured Raymie Johnston, may decide to employ Carson in this area because in Ryan Jones and Stephen Burns Derrygonnelly are strong in this sector.

Derrygonnelly are a hard working side but they also have some sharp attacking footballers who will keep Clive Fitzpatrick and Paul Johnston in the Newtown defence on their toes for the duration of the hour.

Paul Ward is one of the best forwards in club football in Fermanagh and he will take a lot of watching while Barry McGrath and the experienced Kevin Cassidy will look to take on some of the scoring burden.

There may not be much between the sides in the end but Derrygonnelly should have enough to grind out the win.

Belcoo v Roslea

This is the biggest clash of the weekend as the top two teams in Division One meet at Brewster Park on Sunday (3pm).

Belcoo and Roslea would be regarded among the favourites for the championship this year and this promises to be a very tight encounter between two well matched sides.

Raymie Gallagher has had a good response since taking over the reins in Belcoo at the start of the season and they are currently three points clear at the top of the table. However, Gallagher realises that his side could not have asked for a tougher game as they look to secure a quarter-final berth in the championship.

"It is the toughest draw you could have got and it really is 50/50. We've been hit with injuries and suspensions lately so that doesn't help, and we know how good Roslea are, but we will be hoping to be able to win on Sunday," stated Gallagher.

And Roslea counterpart Peter McGinnity is aware of the task that lies ahead for his charges.

"Belcoo have been the form team so far this year and they have racked up some big scores so it will be important for us to be able to put out a full team on Sunday," he commented.

Last season's league champions Roslea will be looking to go one better than they did last year when they were beaten in the championship final by Derrygonnelly and Peter McGinnity and his side will know that if they can get over this considerable hurdle then they will have every chance of doing just that.

After a slow start in the league, McGinnity's outfit have found their form at the right time with Saturday's victory over Tempo their fourth in a row. Indeed their last league defeat came at the hands of Belcoo at the start of June.

Roslea are a very well organised side with no shortage of quality throughout the pitch. In defence Peter Sherry and Peter Lynch are key players while they have one of the best midfield partnerships in the county in Kevin Cosgrove and James Sherry. And if Roslea can secure enough possession in the middle third they will feel that they have the players to punish Belcoo. Seamus Quigley showed the talent he possesses during the championship with Fermanagh and he will have to be watched while Sean Quigley and Liam Lynch will also give the Belcoo defence plenty to think about.

Belcoo could be without a number of key men for the contest with Gallagher rating Shane McCabe and Stephen Maguire as "serious doubts" and there is no question that if the O'Rahillys go into the game without that pair then it will leave a huge hole in their side. And with John Carrigan having sustained an injury and Seamus Conlon suspended they may be forced to move Niall McGovern out of defence and into midfield. Defenisvely Gallagher will need big displays from the likes of Niall Leonard and Mark McGovern while they cannot afford to allow Roslea to get on top at midfield. Like Roslea, though, Belcoo have a strong forward line. If McCabe is avilable he will be vital as he is capable of feeding the attack with a quality supply of ball with Ciaran Flaherty, Brian Cox, Ronan Ferguson and Kieran Leonard all scoring threats for the Roslea defence to worry about.

Tempo v Teemore

The first of Sunday's double header bill at Brewster Park is the meeting of Tempo and Teemore.

Tempo would appear to be favourites going into this game given Teemore's struggles in the league to date although they will be aware that Teemore are more than capable of making this is a very difficult afternoon for them.

The Shamrocks have been beset by injuries this season with Ciaran O'Reilly and Declan O'Reilly among the key players they have missed although they have been boosted by the recent return to action of two time All Star Barry Owens. Owens has had a particularly difficult time with injury but he is battling his way back to fitness and was one of Teemore's better performers during last weekend's defeat to Derrygonnelly.

Owens and Hugh Brady provide the Shamrocks with strength and experience through the spine of their defence and Teemore are likely to look and restrict the Tempo attack by getting numbers behind the ball with Joey Donegan another important player at the back for Teemore.

Gerry Quinlan and Rory Maguire are both strong players at midfield while Teemore will then look to Sean Curry, Ciaran Brady and Declan Fitzpatrick to register scores.

"Tempo would have to be strong favourites but we are hopeful things can come right for us. We've been gearing up for the championship all year, so we'll have to wait and see. I suppose the championship is different to the league and we'll have a stronger team out this weekend than we had in the league games," said Teemore manager Peter Quinn.

Tempo will have been disappointed with their performance last week when they lost 0-14 to 0-06 to Roslea, especially after having beaten league leaders Belcoo the previous week. Manager Sean Breen will be hoping that his side can find a bit of consistency in their game and if they do that then they will have every chance of progressing although they are expecting a tight contest on Sunday.

"We're expecting it to be a tough game," said assistant manager Brian McCaffrey. "Teemore are a good championship side and having Barry Owens back is a massive boost to them. We also have a few injury worries although we would be hopeful that they will all be cleared up by then."

Rory Foy and Declan Campbell will need to be at their best in the Maguires defence while they have plenty of craft around midfield in the shape of Daryl Keenan and Damian Kelly who are both more than capable of getting forward to support their forward line.

In attack Ryan Keenan has impressed in recent weeks in the league and along with Niall McCusker will be expected to be the side's main scoring threats.

This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 05 Aug 10

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