fonaCAB Ulster Club MFC quarter-final
St Molaise v Clann Eireann
(Sunday, Coláiste Feirste, 12:30pm, )
Throw in for this quarter-final meeting has been pushed forward half an hour.
And that is a fairly insignificant consequence of what has been an unprecedented year for Clann Eireann.
On Sunday, their minors make their way to Belfast, and their senior ladies will be in All-Ireland semi-final action against Kilkerrin-Clonberne on the very same afternoon.
Perfection doesn’t exist in sport, but as golden years come, it’s been pretty damn close in Lurgan.
Throw into the mix the small matter of Sam Maguire knocking about The Orchard and suddenly there’s a real aura.
So for St Molaise of Irvinestown and their manager Shane McDermott, is that a factor? Do the Armagh boys have an edge before the ball is thrown in at Coláiste Feirste?:
“You probably have to admit that it does have an effect (the success). We certainly feel we’re going in as underdogs.
“They’re a great club. They’re riding the crest of a wave, and you have to respect that it’s been a huge year for them across the board.
“Our thinking was never beyond the county. This team have completed the year unbeaten before and winning the championship was our goal.
“We hadn’t looked any further than that. We were delighted to get over the line, and we’ll head up the road and give it a lash.”
The U-18 age group is not without its challenges, without even casting the net beyond football.
McDermott says his group “are only really starting to train all together” after a year that has seen his talented squad pulled here, there and everywhere between minor football, reserve football and senior football.
St Molaise made a gallant run to the Intermediate final at adult level, beaten by Lisnaskea, but an experience sure to stand to the young Ernemen.
And their minor success is fresh, having beaten Derrygonnelly just three weeks ago.
2024 marks a third successive year at St Paul’s:
“We beat Derrygonnelly last year also in the final, and beat them this year in a tight contest, more challenging than in previous years.
“It’s been a brilliant achievement. We met Cavan Gaels last year, who made it to the final. We met Four Masters the year before, who won it.
“The boys know they can compete”.
The match will be the second of four quarter-finals, and the only action in the Ulster Minor Tournament this weekend.
Next week marks the clash of defending champions Four Masters and Monaghan kingpins Scotstown, with Fr Rocks Cookstown facing Mayobridge on December 15.
The winners of St Molaise and Clann Eireann will play Magherafelt in the semi-final, with the Derry side earning a narrow win over Naomh Bríd of Antrim last weekend.