Fintona face Lacken in Ulster Club Junior Football Championship semi-final

FINTONA are determined to seize their opportunity to qualify for an Ulster Club Junior Football Championship final when they take on Lacken of Cavan in Saturday’s semi-final at Roslea

The Tyrone champions goo into the tie rested, refreshed and well prepared, having had a two-week break since their resounding quarter-final win over Urris of Donegal, while Lacken are coming straight off last weekend’s victory over Armagh opponents Ballyhegan.

The Pearses have displayed flair and resilience in equal measure this season, moving seamlessly from a Tyrone league and championship double to a provincial challenge which has energised both the team and the supporters.

“This competition is not bonus territory to us, we’re in it for a reason and we want to give it a full rattle,” said joint manager Connor O’Donnell.

“The last time they were here three years ago, they got beaten in the semi-final, they didn’t perform that day, and they’ll tell you that themselves.”

The long-term objective, however, is to make an impact at intermediate level within Tyrone next year.

“That’s the level these boys want to get to, and beyond that.

“The club itself is striving for that, so it’s up to the players to deliver that on the pitch, and our job, me and Cathal, is to get that out of them.

“They were up for two years, and they came down, and they’re hurting, but that will stand to them, how competitive and tough the games are, to get out on the right side of.”

The depth of the squad was demonstrated in the last game when Caolan Donnelly and Cormac Watson were drafted in to the starting fifteen, while versatility was exercised in midfielder Padraig Goodman’s move to full back.

“We have talked about a panel all year, and there’s no point in having a panel if you’re not prepared to dip in to it,” said O’Donnell, who manages the team along with Omagh St Enda’s clubmate Cathal McCarron.

“There were lads who got opportunities, a few fresh faces came in, and when you come to this stage of a competition, this is why you do carry a big panel, because you’ll pick up knocks and niggles.

“So we need to unearth a few players, we need to dip in to the squad, and thankfully the lads that came in did well and they have put their hand up for a jersey.”

Donnelly produced a sparkling performance, contributing 1-3 from wing back, while Watson was drafted in and delivered a towering midfield display.

“Mark (McGlinn) picked up an injury during the week, so thankfully we have big Paduie there, who has been playing around the middle.

“He stepped back in to full back and did a tremendous job. For such a young lad, he commanded that area really well.

“He is versatile, he can play out around the middle and he can go to full back, but he’s a good ball player as well, and we’re jut glad to have him in our ranks.”

Fintona had too much power and pace for the men from Inishowen as they turned on the power in the second half to cruise through to the last four.

But they had to recover from a slow start, conceding an early goal, and after a few home thrust delivered in the changing room at half-time, everything changed after the restart.

“There were a few harsh words at half-time, we were doing things that we didn’t plan for,” said O’Donnell.

“It was our skills and our basics, and we weren’t reading how the referee was reffing the game, you could see he was allowing that wee bit of contact.

“It took the lads a wee while to get to grips with the game.

“But three weeks is a long time from the county final, and then you have your celebrations in the middle of that, so we did have a wee bit of ground to make up, and we were yearning for a game of football.

“Fair play to Urris in the first half, they were peppering us, and we had planned for that.

“They got the goal and they got a two-pointer, and it left us thinking, this could be an aerial battle all day here, but thankfully the lads put that wee bit of pressure on the ball coming in, and we dealt with it inside if it did come in.”

The Pearses seized control of the midfield battle after the break, and the scores flowed as they out-scored their opponents by 2-10 to 0-1.

“We have big lads around the middle, Cormac Watson came in, and we have Peter McGlinn, and then there are lads ravenous for breaks as well.

“The first half, we were just that wee bit off it, we weren’t where the ball was breaking, but second half the lads were on their toes, they put the hammer down, and thankfully we got on the right end of it.”

Much of the attacking energy was generated by the pace of runners from deep, particularly wing backs Donnelly and Jared Brogan, who finished the job off with a late goal.

“We have good forwards and we have running power coming through.

“It’s just about getting that right measured ball, getting men to lay it off to the right areas.

“A lot of that came through in the second half and thankfully we got a few scores and pulled away.”

On his return from a carefree summer in the USA, Caolan Donnelly wasn’t expecting to walk straight on to a Fintona team that has just won the Tyrone Division Three league.

A handful of substitute appearances helped him reconnect with the pace of championship football following a spell playing with the Aidan McAnespie’s club in Boston.

The Junior Championship final was his stage, the perfect setting for the moment that will never be forgotten by Fintona folk as the 21-year-old, once again off the bench, smashed home the last gasp goal that turned defeat to triumph.

“I’m not going to come straight back in and put those boys out of a position, definitely not, those boys have been dedicating themselves to it the whole time,” he said.

Those county final heroics earned him his first start of the season in the Ulster Club JFC clash with Urris of Donegal, and following a classy performance that saw him hit 1-3 from wing back, he’s set to hold on to his place for Saturday’s semi-final meeting with Lacken

“We have a big task ahead of us. I know a couple of the Lacken boys from playing with them in America, and we have a tough game ahead of us.”

Stateside gaelic football is played at a less hectic pace than back home, and Donnelly is still re-acclimatising himself with the demands of Tyrone and Ulster action.

“My legs aren’t fully ready for 60 minutes yet, I haven’t played fully in two or three months.

“But it’s good to get a run-out. I’m lucky enough to get back in now, so I’ll take advantage of it.

“I was training over there too, but I was probably living life at the same time,

“It’s a lot different out there, 13-a-side in 30 degree heat, so it’s a struggle, and then you come back here to the wind and the rain.

“I probably wasn’t fit for a full game, maybe still not.”

Fintona go into this weekend’s last four tie on the back of a big win over their Inishowen opponents, who could not live with the attacking power of the Red Hand champions in the second half at O’Neills Healy Park.

“It was a tough game at the start, but we opened up and showed our fitness at the end and got over the line.

“We have a lot of speed around the half backs, and if you can get good ball in and men coming of the shoulder, there’s very little teams can do to stick with that pace.

“It wasn’t really working for a while in the game, but then when we started to get boys off the shoulder, we started ticking away, and it did the job.

“We were getting caught in a few two v ones, but then we started to use the space and spread out and cut them apart and that worked a charm.”