Skins’ Head Coach Stevie Welsh says that reaching the All-Ireland Junior Cup final for the first time is a massive achievement for the club.

The Enniskillen side produced a terrific display on Saturday at Mullaghmeen to overcome Monkstown, and they can now look forward to a special final against local rivals Clogher Valley on January 28.

“It is massive for the club, obviously it is totally unchartered territory for us,” said Welsh. “This is only the third year that we have qualified for the competition.

“Last year we got to the quarter finals and lost at home to Ballyclare, which was hard to take, and this year we have had two away games and the boys have had to work hard to get to where they are. It really means a lot to everybody at the club.”

And the performance on the day delighted Welsh.

“It was the whole performance that was pleasing, it was great to see. The boys really stuck to the task and they were very professional.

“Monkstown scored about three minutes in, which wasn’t the start that we wanted, but there was a big wind in the first half and they played with it.

“The boys reacted well though to conceding the early try and we scored twice in the first half and just kept chipping away. It was a very pleasing display,” he added.

There was a huge crowd at Mullaghmeen to cheer on Skins in their bid to make the final and Welsh is in no doubt that the supporters played their part in helping them across the line.

“It was as big a crowd as I ever remember about the place and they definitely played their part. It was great from start to finish; the minis gave a wee guard of honour for the boys coming out, and then there was the noise of the supporters.

“The boys really appreciated it, and hopefully they will all jump on the bus up for the final,” he commented.

And there is a familiar opponent lying ahead in the decider as Skins come up against holders Clogher in a derby showdown.

“As if there wasn’t enough spice to it, it is a derby final,” said Welsh. “You could see it happening with the way the draws were going with each round, and it adds that wee bit of extra spice to it, for sure.”

That though will be put on the back-burner for now with league matters the focus for the next couple of weeks.

“It is back to porridge this weekend with a league game against Carrick at home. Our league form had been really inconsistent, and we can’t keep making excuses in the league – we have to get points on the board.

“We need at least five points this Saturday to start to push back up the table or we will have no All-Ireland next year to look forward to,” he said.