This Friday night sees the much anticipated meeting of Derrygonnelly Harps and Ederney St. Joseph’s at Brewster Park – a repeat of last year’s decider when Ederney secured the title for the first time in 52 years, and in doing so. ended the Harps’ hopes of six in row.

It is undoubtedly the tie of the round and Derrygonnelly’s Mick Glynn is expecting another massive contest as his side look to right the wrongs of last year.

“It will be a very fierce battle. Ederney are a great team – they won the championship deservedly last year, and it will be a big challenge for us to try and avenge last year’s result.

“But the lads have worked very hard in training, so we are hoping they will put on a good performance on the day.”

Glynn admits that last year’s defeat, which halted the Harps’ quest for six-in-a-row, is a motivator for the side but does not feel they will need much motivation heading into Friday night’s game.

“We would be using last year’s game as a motivator, but we don’t feel there is any motivational issues.

“The boys want to go out and win the championship, and to do that you have to win every game in it. So, they will hopefully be up for this game and put in a good performance.”

With the league already in the bag, Glynn wants the Harps players to step it up another gear, adding: “Apart from the conditions that were in the league final, I think we did play well.

“It wasn’t a day for vintage football, but there was good effort and hard work. But we will have to step it up again for the championship.

“It is great to have the league, but it is the championship everybody wants and that is what we are after as well.”

Ederney may go into Friday night’s encounter as holders, but as far as Manager Mickey Cassidy is concerned, it is Derrygonnelly who will be favourites.

’Regardless of being champions or not, we won’t be favourites going into this game. They are the team in form, they are the league champions, and they have players back so their panel is stronger, so it is going to take a big performance on Friday night,” he said.

Struggled

Ederney have struggled to get a full squad available for any of their games this year due to one thing or another and Cassidy admits that is likely to be the case again on Friday night.

“It has been very disjointed; between injuries, Covid and lads away, it has been difficult. We haven’t had our best 18 or 19 players together all year, and that’s a fact, and I can’t see us having a full hand on Friday night either.

“Marty McGrath has a strain and Pól McKervey, Sean Cassidy, Declan Deazley and Mark McCauley all have niggles, but we hope that more than half of them will be ready,” he added.

A huge hunger and desire drove Ederney to victory last year, and Cassidy says that they will only know if that same hunger is still there when the ball gets thrown in on Friday night.

“We will know on Friday night. The lip service stops when you cross the white line but we are looking forward to it; that is why you want to play.

“You are who you are, and you’re from where you’re from, and you want to play the best from where you are from, and as far as I’m concerned on Friday night we’re playing the best from where we are from,” he concluded.