Enniskillen captain Alan Wilkinson is hoping the team can carve their names into club history by winning the Towns Cup Final against Bangor on Monday.
“It is an absolutely massive occasion for the club,” he admitted. “The last time we were in the final was back in 2007 and we haven’t won it since 1937 which was the only time Enniskillen have ever won the cup, so it’s a massive day where we could make a bit of history.”
Going into the semi-final against local rivals Clogher Valley many outside the club had already pencilled the Tyrone side in for yet another final appearance, but that opinion was not shared by the Enniskillen squad, and the victory has left them believing anything is possible in the final.
“We were very confident going into the semi-final anyway even though we were underdogs, but a win like that obviously lifts you even more,” he said. “We were underdogs but the people involved in the match day always believed we could win it, and we were never going up with an attitude of anything different. Realistically we are probably even more of an underdog for this one. Bangor are where they are in qualifying one and fighting for promotion out of it, but we were an underdog in the quarter final against Ballynahinch and then again against Clogher so it takes the pressure off a wee bit and we can go out and perform the best we can. At the end of the day it is a 20 man squad against a 20 man squad and we aren’t going up there to just make up the numbers. We are going up with an aspiration to make a wee bit of history for Enniskillen. We believe that we can create another upset, but we are under no illusions that the odds are against us.”
Alan will go into the game with the additional pressure of the captaincy of the team, but he says that will make little difference to him when the match kicks off. “I’m quite lucky in that I have quite an experienced squad around me this year, so it has made my life a little bit easier because we have a very mature group of players,” he said. “Obviously there is that little bit of extra weight on your shoulders but ultimately the results come down to the team performance and I am lucky to have a very strong team around me.”
The occasion will be a new experience for many of the team, but despite the enormity of the match the players will be seeing to approach it as just another game. “Obviously it’s hard to take away the differences because you are travelling up the road to play in the Kingspan stadium, but we will be targeting it like we would for any other 80 minutes,” said Alan. “If you think about it any other way you are putting added pressure on an occasion that doesn’t need to be there. In terms of the way we approach the game we will be putting in the same procedures through training and we will be trying to execute a game plan the same as we have all season.”
One difference will be the increased vocal support from the stands, with a large contingent of local fans expected to make the trip to Belfast to cheer on the team. “Anywhere you go that bit support with you is like a sixteenth man,” admitted Alan. 
“We certainly noticed that up at the Cran in the semi-final and it is very much appreciated to have that support. It can get you through some of those tougher moments in the game when you have a bit of vocal support from the crowd.”