Belcoo v Lisnaskea

Saturday August 29

in Derrygonelly, 6.30pm

When the draw was made for the quarter finals of the Intermediate Championship this was one of the ties that caught the eye.

On the sidelines, you have the experience of Lisnaskea’s Peter Clarke coming up against Belcoo’s Shane McCabe who is in his first year of management in club football with the added spice that Clarke is a former Belcoo manager.

And both managers are expecting little to divide the sides on Saturday evening in Derrygonnelly.

“I’m expecting it to be a tough game. Lisnaskea are a good team who will be very keen to put in a big performance in the championship and they have a manager that will know each and every Belcoo player inside out. We know that they will be well equipped and well prepared and will put a big test up to ourselves,” said Belcoo boss McCabe.

And Clarke also expects a stern examination for his side but is targeting a win.

“For me, regardless of who we are meeting, my number one objective is to try and win our first championship match but it is going to be a very tough examination.

“They are two teams very evenly matched so I expect a tough challenge from them,” he said.

The sides met earlier in the league with Belcoo taking the points that day but McCabe won’t read anything into that game when preparing for Saturday.

“We wouldn’t read anything into the league meeting, there was a couple of players missing from both teams.

“This Saturday is a championship game and anything can happen.

“The main thing that we want is to beat Lisnaskea in the first round of the championship. All eyes are on Saturday and we are looking forward to it. It is about who performs on the day and hopefully we can come out on the right end of the result,” added McCabe.

For Clarke, the key to winning the game is producing their own game while limiting the influence of Belcoo’s main players.

“It is about how particular battles go and how players stand up on the evening. You have to find something extra for a championship game.

“We have experienced players and I’m hoping that those players can play to their best and we would hope that the mix of the young players we have along with that experience can be a winning formula.

“Belcoo can play good football if they are allowed to so it is about not letting Belcoo play to their strengths while maximising our potential.

“We have players who are starting to play well. I saw signs in our last game against Derrylin that gives me hope and belief and hopefully we can raise our level further which is what is needed in championship,” said Clarke.