Teemore forward Eoin McManus was delighted to see the Shamrocks progress to the next round of the McMahon Healthcare SFC quarter-final after they edged out Derrygonnelly on Sunday in a tight encounter at Brewster Park.

The teenage attacker played a big role for his side, bagging a crucial goal in the opening minute of the second half while he then held his nerve to drill over a long range free for what proved to be the decisive score of the contest.

“It’s brilliant to get an opening round win, we weren’t expected to win so it makes it even better,” said the Teemore man.

The Shamrocks had trailed by two at half time but they came flying out of the blocks at the start of the second half and although the Harps got back on top, Teemore hung on to grab the late winning score.

“We had a good chat at half time and decided to get the ball in quicker in the second half. They finished well in the first half but I felt our point to make it 0-07 to 0-05 actually proved pivotal for us. We lost Barry Owens to a black card in the second half and Ryan Jones was winning more of the ball but we just hung in there and when the chances came we thankfully took them,” he added.

Devenish were also underdogs going into their clash with Tempo on Saturday night but the Garrison men produced a strong finish to the game to deservedly book their spot in the last eight.

Having underperformed in recent championship campaigns, Devenish defender Barry Mulrone admits it was important to claim the win.

“Over the last four or five years we would have been expected to do better in the championship and we would expected ourselves to have done better so it was an important win for us on Saturday. It was a tight game but I thought that we deserved to progress in the end,” he said.

Mulrone stresses though that the key now is to back up this performance by repeating it again in the quarter-finals.

“We’ll have to look at the next few league games and try and put a few decent results together to give us confidence going into the Erne Gaels game. There is little point in us winning against Tempo and not building on it. We know though that it is going to be very tough against Belleek. There is a good rivalry between us and the last four or five games between us has only been decided by a point here or a point there,” he commented.

Erne Gaels were also pleased to have got a championship win under their belt. Mark Lyons was a key performer for the Belleek side in their win over Enniskillen, kicking three points, although he pointed out the importance of forward Thomas McCaffrey who registered both their goals in the 2-08 to 0-06 victory.

“It’s always a great feeling to pick up a championship win. Thomas took both his goals really well and he is a big player for us. He is looking to put off an operation on his finger to the winter now so that he can play on but at the minute its touch and go with him. Devenish will be a serious test for us, we will be underdogs and hopefully we can give them a good rattle,” he said.

Roslea began the defence of the New York Cup with victory over Lisnaskea on Sunday but defender Conor Mulligan knows that there are plenty more obstacles in their way if they are to retain the title.

“We are very happy to get the win and at the end of the day the result is all that matters. It wasn’t the prettiest to watch and we didn’t play that particularly well but getting the win was the most important thing.

“The Championship is going to be very interesting now as it’s open for any team to win it. Everyone will be confident they can go on and lift silverware and it’s going to produce some real tasty games. The Belcoo game is still fresh in our minds from 2013 and we don’t need to be told what is going to be thrown at us on the Friday night. Obviously they are going to be looking for revenge and they are going to be very dangerous. We are lucky to have played a game already and hopefully that will stand to us.”