Derrygonnelly Harps will begin their quest for a sixth New York Cup in a row this weekend and the big question is, can anybody stop them achieving that goal?

The Harps have been consistently the best performers in both league and championship in Fermanagh during this glorious period for the club and they are hotly fancied to keep a tight grip on the cup again in 2020.

The shortened season due to the Covid-19 situation does not seem to have had any affect on Derrygonnelly who will go into the championship sitting top of the Division One table and clearly the team to beat.

Indeed, if anything, the Harps are stronger than they were last season with greater options in attack.

The return of Gary McKenna after an injury plagued 2019 is a big boost while the form shown by teenager Micheal Glynn in his first season in senior football will be very encouraging for them while a number of other young players who made an impact last year now have another year under their belts.

And those youthful players are surrounded by experienced personnel in the shape of the likes of Ryan Jones, Conall Jones, Eamon McHugh and Michael Jones.

Make no bones about it, Derrygonnelly are going to take a lot of stopping.

First up for them is a repeat of last year’s final against Roslea and Peter McGinnity’s side always provide a stern test for opponents.

Defensively, they are a well drilled side who are difficult to breakdown with the likes of Niall Cassidy and James McMahon experienced campaigners. Niall Cosgrove provides a good link between defence and attack and in Sean Quigley they have a match winner up front where he should line up with brother Seamus.

They don’t carry the same depth though as Derrygonnelly and McGinnity has had to introduce a number of young players this season. On any given day they can be dangerous opposition but they got the draw that nobody else really wanted.

Ederney are a side who some will see as potential challengers to Derrygonnelly and Mickey Cassidy’s side have been among the top teams in the county over the last few years.

Powerful at midfield with former All Star Marty McGrath still a key cog, and with the guile and energy of Declan McCusker coming from deep, they also have a lively attack where the likes of Mark McCauley, Sean Cassidy, Paul McCusker and Ryan Morris give them plenty of scoring threat.

The St. Joseph’s side reached the final two years ago but had no answer to Derrygonnelly and they will have been disappointed to have slipped up at the quarter final stage last year in losing to Belnaleck, when they were again tipped to be the main challengers to the Harps crown.

They have though had a good opening to the league and they will be keen to make amends for that defeat to Belnaleck when the sides meet again this Friday night.

Belnaleck have come as close as anybody to taking Derrygonnelly’s scalp in recent years with Colm Bradley’s side seeing a late Darragh McBrien effort tail just wide in last year’s semi-final as the game ended in a draw.

Belnaleck’s rise through the grades has been very impressive and they will only improve now playing Division One football.

Despite the loss of Lee Cullen and Ciaran McBrien who are travelling, they have plenty of quality in the squad in the shape of Kane Connor, Che Cullen and Conor McCauley to go along with the youthful Garrett Cavanagh, Darragh McGurn and Garvan Quigley. A strong, physical side, they will give any team problems on their day and if they get over Ederney again they will be live challengers.

One side who have gone about their business quietly and effectively and who could well be the main threat to the Harps six in a row is last season’s Intermediate winners, Kinawley.

Indeed, the Brian Borus have already beaten Derrygonnelly this year in the league and have produced some impressive performances to date.

Ollie Fay has taken over the reins this season and they are a side who don’t have many weaknesses.

They have an effective system of play, are athletic and aggressive with a good mix of experience and youth with Shaun Doherty and Niall Bogue still playing important roles.

And they have that crucial ingredient of match winners with Tomás Corrigan, Ruairi Corrigan and Hogan Cup winner Tom Keenan all capable of producing a moment of magic.

They do though face a tricky opener against Erne Gaels. The Belleek men have not enjoyed the best of league campaigns so far with only one point gained from their first five games although they have been competitive for long periods in most of those.

Ryan Lyons (travelling) is a big loss for them while county star Ultan Kelm has not featured so far with injury but they still have a good sprinkling of talent in their side in the likes of Barry McCann, Oisin Kelm and Seamus Ryder. Kinawley though may prove a tough nut to crack for the Gaels.

In the other quarter final it is another repeat of last year as Tempo take on Teemore.

Tempo came through that night with Lorcan McStravick producing a man of the match performance. The forward has looked sharp again for the Maguires in attack this year although there has been something of an over-reliance on him for scores.

They will also look to county men Aidan Breen, Tiarnan Bogue and Ryan Breen to drive them on.

Teemore suffered relegation from Division One last year but they have regrouped with Barry Owens now in charge and have been in fine form in Division Two. They come into the championship with a 100 per cent record and sitting top of the Division Two table having racked up some big scores.

They have momentum on their side which is important and as always, the Shamrocks are a tough championship opponent.

They will be hoping that the McManus boys, Eoin and Cian, along with Colm McNally and Niall Clarke can help to steer the Shamrocks through to the last four of this year’s senior football championship.