Belnaleck captain Mark Gallagher says that the Art McMurroughs are in the right place both physically and mentally as they look to see off Coa and secure the Junior Championship title on Friday night.

Belnaleck have already defeated Coa in this year’s championship but with a backdoor system in operation they must do it again if Gallagher is to lift the cup under the lights at Brewster Park.

Indeed, it has been suggested that Belnaleck will be at a disadvantage as they have had no game since beating Coa a number of weeks ago while the O’Dwyers had a game against Brookeboro to get through after this. It is a notion that Gallagher refutes though and he says that they are better primed now than they were before the first game.

“At the end of the day we have trained hard and we are in the right frame of mind going in Friday night’s final. We have had three weeks to really knuckle down and we would feel now that we are actually in a better place now than we were three weeks ago. We are focused and hopefully come match day we can produce a performance and win it. We have already beaten Coa once this year and, as I say, we believe we are in a better place than we were that day,” he commented.

Before the season began the Junior Championship would have been high on the wishlist for Belnaleck and Gallagher feels that they have the squad to go on and win the contest on Friday night. The energetic half back will be a key player for the Art McMurroughs on the night with the side having a good blend of youth and experience. In the likes of Che Cullen, Lee Cullen, Kane Connor, Conor McAuley and the Lewsley brothers Belnaleck have certainly plenty of quality in their side.

“We set our goals out at the start of the year and this was definitely one of them. There’s only three championships to play for and you can only win the one that you are in so it is always nice to reach the final. We are glad to be there and we’re confident that we have a squad that is capable of winning it,” added Gallagher.

In their first meeting a month ago Belnaleck came through by a point and Gallagher expects another very tight affair in the decider.

“Belnaleck and Coa have throughout the years always been tight games. Coa are a big, physical team with some very good players. You only have to look at Eoin Donnelly who is a stand out man in the county never mind in the club. We’re looking forward to it though, there is a bit of a buzz about the club and hopefully we can come out on top on the night,” he stated.