It’s just under eight weeks until Vinny Connolly’s Fermanagh travel to take on Tyrone in the Ulster Championship U21 competition in Omagh, and the Newtownbutler man is looking forward to the contest.

Connolly admits though that it’s a tough draw for his side: “Without a doubt the draw hasn’t been too kind to us again this year. Last year we had to travel down to play Donegal and this year we have to travel again and this time it’s to Tyrone. In saying that though those sides have names but it’s what you do on the pitch that counts. We are going well and I’m quietly optimistic that we can put in a performance against Tyrone.” The Fermanagh side have been doing a weights training programme since December and finally took to the field at the start of January, and have impressed Connolly.

“They are a great bunch of lads to work with and they all want to succeed. All we can do is keep our heads down, work hard and hopefully if we put in the work now then it will happen for us on March 18th,” he commented.

Fermanagh played their first competitive game of the season last Saturday when they defeated a strong Sligo side, 2-12 to 1-09. The Yeats County actually led 1-06 to 1-04 at the break but Fermanagh were to produce a convincing second half performance to seal the win. The scores on the day for Fermanagh came from Eddie Courtney who hit 1-06, Eoin McManus 0-03, Stephen McGullion 1-00, Conor McAuley 0-01, Philip Leonard 0-01 and Mark Kelly 0-01 to deservedly earn Fermanagh a six point victory. Ciaran Corrigan and Cian McManus impressed in defence for the Erne County while Courtney and Eoin McManus in the forward line impressed.

Connolly now hopes to build on this victory with further games planned in the coming weeks.

“I currently have five or six teams lined up to play us but nothing is confirmed yet. The weather has been a bit poor of late so it was good to get a game under our belts. We won’t be looking too much at the result but certainly I was very impressed with the performance and how the lads handled themselves.” The Tyrone side on March 18th will be backboned by the likes of Rory Brennan (Trillick), Daniel McNulty (Clonoe), Ruairi Sludden (Dromore), Mark Bradley (Killyclogher) and two Omagh players from the Ulster Club final, namely Conor Meyler and Ciaran McLaughlin. Furthermore, Tyrone will also be boosted by having former All-Ireland winners Brian Dooher and Peter Canavan helping out Fergal Logan in the Tyrone dugout. The Tyrone side back at minor level in 2012 defeated Armagh in the Ulster final (4-11 v 0-19) before being defeated in an All Ireland Quarter final against Meath (2-12 v 1-14).

Connolly has also added to his backroom team this year with Syd Mulrone (Devenish) coming on board to help out with trainer Eugene McGrath and logistics officer Seamus Lewis. A captain has still to be picked but Connolly is adamant his side are equipped, “We currently are working with a panel of 30 players and I hope to add Leigh Jones (Derrygonnelly) and Niall Carson (Maguiresbridge) to that squad but at the moment injuries are holding those lads back. We also have five of the squad training with the Senior team and I’m also trying my best to get Tomas Clarke (Lisnaskea) back from University in England as much as I can.” Connolly continued: “We know going down to Omagh won’t be easy but I think if we believe we can win then we are going down in the right frame of mind. We have a strong squad and even though we aren’t getting competitive games like the Hastings Cup we are still working just as hard.” Fermanagh Under-21 Squad Colin Copeland (Lisnaskea), Conor Murphy (Kinawley), James Allen (Kinawley), Paddy Rehill (Enniskillen), Stephen McGullion (Derrygonnelly), Eoin McManus (Teemore), Mark Kelly (Ederney), Conor McAuley (Belnaleck), Shane O’Hara (Aghadrumsee), Eddie Courtney (Aghadrumsee), Paddy Sweeney (Belcoo), Aaron McGoldrick (Derrylin), Jack McCann (Erne Gaels), James McMahon (Roslea), James McManus (Kinawley), Tommy McCaffrey (Erne Gaels), Ciaran Corrigan (Maguiresbridge), John McElhill (Irvinestown), Martin Beggan (Roslea), Sean Keenan (Lisnaskea), Patrick Dolan (Derrylin), Dennis Greene (Derrygonnelly), Cian McManus (Teemore), Patrick Murphy (Coa), Ryan Maguire (Teemore), Gary McKenna (Derrygonnelly), Niall McMahon (Roslea), Tomas Clarke (Lisnaskea), Shane Mimna (Erne Gaels), Phillip Leonard (Belcoo), Leigh Jones (Derrygonnelly), Niall Carson (Maguiresbridge).