Kinawley ladies have made a habit of upsetting the odds this season and going into the final of the Ulster Intermediate Championship they will not mind the underdogs tag being placed around their neck.

They meet Emmett Og in the final, who are an amalgamation of four clubs in Monaghan in what will prove to be a stern test.

Indeed this final appears to be a real contrast in styles. Kinawley have hit eight goals in two games while the Monaghan champions have conceded just one green flag over the course of their two game run to the decider.

Kinawley defender, Courtney Murphy, is well aware of the threat posed by the Monaghan ladies:

“They are a very strong side, especially coming out of Monaghan, they are a strong side. Monaghan is always very competitive and they play in division one there and being an amalgamation they are going to have a strong pick of players so we know what we are up against. You don’t get to a final unless you are a very good team,” the 22 year old said.

Emmett Og defeated Saval of Down 4-11 to 0-11 in the opening round before a tight game against Donaghmore of Tyrone saw them win out on a score of 0-12 to 1-08.

The Fermanagh player revealed that the mood is good in the squad as they continue their preparations for the big day this Sunday.

“We are relaxed enough and looking forward to it. A few days to go now and we are just want to get out there now.”

Kinawley defeated Antrim’s St. Brigid’s4-09 to 0-13 in the first round while in the semi final Darren Boyle’s women produced a brilliant performance to see off Cavan champions, Arva/Killeshandra. They won out by nine points on a scoreline of 4-12 to 3-09 and Murphy admitted that the team were pleased with how they performed.

“We were very happy with how the last game went. It was a good result and no-one expected to win by that much. It was a good performance and we are really hitting our stride now,” she said, before adding:

“The first half the goals really helped us when they came back at us. But we were able to respond to everything they threw at us.”

Over the past number of years the club has been moving in the right direction, building on a strong youth structure to compete at the latter stages of Ulster at senior level and the experienced Murphy says there is a good blend among the current squad:

“We have had lots of underage success and then two years ago we reached the final too. We fell back a bit last year and were disappointed. This year we have some new younger players in and it is great to have them and we still have the experienced players too and there is a good mix.”

That run to the Intermediate final two years ago is sure to stand to the team when they take the field on Sunday with not only the hurt of defeat still relatively fresh but also the lessons learned stored away in the memory bank, as Murphy explained:

“We gained a lot of experience in 2016. We were not expected to go as far but this year there is more belief there and we know that we deserve to be there and we are determined to do everything that we can to go one step further.”

With Murphy in defence they have an excellent chance of silverware.