Kinawley will get their Ulster Ladies Senior Club Football Championship campaign underway this Sunday when they make the trip to Augher to take on St Macartan’s in the quarter final stage of the competition.

The Brian Borus came through a tough Fermanagh final against Derrygonnelly to secure their spot in the provincial competition and manager Mark Cunningham says preparations for the last eight tie have gone well.

“The three week break has been ideal preparation. The girls rightly enjoyed their five in a row celebrations but we were back to training the next Tuesday night and things have progressed well since then,” he said.

Kinawley endured a stop start club campaign in Fermanagh but they concluded with two big tests against the Harps, losing the Division One final before bouncing back and claiming the championship crown and Cunningham feels that those two games will stand them in good stead going into Ulster.

“The two games against Derrygonnelly will of course be beneficial, and more so the fact that they were over back to back weekends. It has been the ideal preparation heading into the Ulster campaign,” he commented.

This game is going to be a step up for the Brian Borus as last year’s Ulster Intermediate champions move up to the Senior grade but Cunningham believes that the players will relish the challenge that comes with that.

“The step up from Intermediate to Senior will of course be a challenge but the girls are looking forward to it and they will always give 100 per cent. One of the most impressive traits in this team is that they don’t shy away from any challenge they face.”

However, he knows that they face a tough assignment against an experienced and successful St Macartans outfit.

“They are a vastly experienced team who’s success speaks for itself. They will no doubt have their sights set on challenging for Ulster and All-Ireland titles this year. I know they were defeated in the Tyrone county final last year but they have bounced back impressively this year to reclaim that title,” said the Kinawley manager, who expects to have a clean bill of health for the contest.

“We have a couple of minor knocks that I am hoping will clear up before Sunday, but thankfully we have had a full squad to choose from for most of the year so we will have a relatively settled team for Sunday.

And he stresses that if they are to compete then they will have to be smart in the way they go about the game.

“They play the game in a very clear way so we have to be smart about how we play. We can match them for speed and skill and passion, we just have to be really smart about how we attack and work collectively to deal with their threats,” he added.