Lisbellaw Captain Rory Porteous states that they are aiming for a 60-minute performance when they take on Banagher in the Ulster Intermediate Championship final on Saturday.

The ’Law have started their two previous games slowly before raising their performance levels in the second half to come through against Newry and Carrickmore, but Porteous says that they have to hit the ground running if they want to see off the Derry champions in Omagh.

“The first game out against Newry, we showed in that first half the wee bit of rust that we had, but in the second half we got into the game and started to show what we could do, and it was similar enough in the Carrickmore game.

“We had a slow start but we got in at half-time level at seven points each, and for us, that was a big, big plus knowing that we hadn’t really got going and we were level with them.

“And you can see what we did in the second half – in that first few minutes we scored 1-02 or something in the space of five minutes, and totally shell-shocked them.

‘Performance’

“In a final it is not going to be like that – we can’t afford to not get going until we get in at half time and look at things, we need a 60-plus minutes performance.

“You can’t afford to give any ground at any stage of the game; you have to be ready to go at the throw-in, and every time you get a break you need to be making the most of it and coming back out again flying.

“We will be looking for a 60-minute performance in the final, no matter what,” he said.

Porteous is expecting a physical test against the Derry outfit, who have had the advantage of coming through their county championship while they then took the scalp of Middletown in Ulster – a side that Lisbellaw know well

“They are a big, strong team and they have plenty of Derry county players and fellas with experience.

“They played a competitive club championship in Derry, they started off in the Senior championship, and the way that works is that if you are not successful in the Seniors, you move into the Intermediate and so on from there.

“They have recovered from that and built a lot of momentum. Beating Middletown is a big thing; they are a team we have come up against an awful lot of times, and they have always given us a tough test, but they came out on top in that game .

“From what we could see from the videos, it was a bit of a battle, and we are expecting nothing less than that in the final as well,” he commented.

Porteous has enjoyed a great season, to date, with the full back a key player for Fermanagh as they landed the Lory Meagher Cup, and he is keen to continue to build momentum with Lisbellaw.

“A number of us are coming off the back of a good season with the county and winning a Lory Meagher.

“We are riding a bit of a wave and we want to keep that momentum going, and take that with us into 2022.

‘Confidence’

“We have a nice mix of young and old in the squad. The young boys have the confidence in their own ability – the level they are coming into the Senior team now compared to how much learning I had to do when I came into the Senior team is a big difference.

“Those boys fear nothing, and then the older boys have been there and done it. There is a still a number of lads left over from that last time we won the Ulster Intermediate,” he said.

Saturday is another big final for a lot of the players to look forward, to and Porteous says he is relishing the challenge.

“I’m more looking forward to it than being nervous about it. It is another chance to step out on a big stage and perform, and we are relishing the challenge of it more than anything else.”

So, what will it take for Lisbellaw to come out on top on Saturday?

“We need to do the simple things right,” said Porteous.

“We have a strong defence and that needs to be at its best up against the Banagher forwards, who have shown already that they are dangerous.

“But we know what our forwards can do, they have shown it in spells in the two games we have had so far.

“If we can get the ball into them, we know they can cause chaos and score, so we need to make sure they are getting enough, and when they do get it they need to be clinical and take their scores rather than being wasteful, because wides can kill a team,” he added.