ULSTER CLUB JUNIOR FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL PREVIEW.
Drumhowan v Lissan (Derry): Brewster Park: Sunday November 30th @ 2.00pm.
This Sunday Drumhowan travel to Enniskillen to take on Derry junior champions, Lissan, in the final of the Ulster club junior football championship and an opportunity for them to go where no club from Monaghan has gone before at junior level, to take the Ulster junior club title, since the series became an official competition. Drumhowan reached the semi-final of this competition back in 2005 only to lose out by the narrowest of margins to the eventual All Ireland champions but this year they have gone one better than that by booking their place in the final at the expense of Belfast side McDermott’s. They travel to Enniskillen though in the knowledge that they face a much sterner and a much more searching test than that posed by McDermotts as Lissan come to the final with very strong credentials particularly in the manner in which they fashioned their late surge to seal victory in their semi-final win over Down side St John’s. Based on that Drumhowan will know that they will have to get down to business early and make early chances count, something that gave a little cause for concern in their semi-final as they spurned a series of first-half chances that in a closer contest could well have been fatal. Lissan too favour a similar style of play to Drumhowan in that they like to move the ball quickly from defence into attack with midfielder Kevin O’Hagan a vital link in that process. O’Hagan too is a good finisher and his three points went a long way to helping them to victory in the semi-final. His partner in midfield Damian Coey though is doubtful in that he had to be stretchered off with a serious ankle injury in the semi-final but his replacement, Niall Convery, is also an accomplished performer and his presence would certainly not weaken their overall effectiveness. The Lissan defence is anchored at full-back by Oran Donnelly and centre back by Gerald Donnelly, the latter also captaining the side, while up front they rely to a great extent on full forward Patrick Coey, who finished the semi-final with five points, while wing half forward Stephen McCrory rowed in with four. Darren Donnelly at corner for word is one of their playmakers in that third of the field playing a somewhat similar role as Steven McGinnity does for Drumhowan, winning the ball and laying it off quickly or taking on a defender to buy a free. Drumhowan for their part will hope that Colm Lambe is back to full fitness as they will need all the firepower they can muster against a defence that was the sheet anchor of their second-half resurgence in the semi-final. The midfield battle between Drumhowan pair Enda McElroy and Dermot McDermott and the Lissan pairing of Kevin O’Hagan and Damian Coey, or his replacement, promises to be one of the features of the game but Lissan too will be aware of the firepower that Drumhowan carry in the likes of Stephen McGinnity and particularly James McElroy whose aerial ability will certainly cause problems although Lissan fullback Oran Donnelly has had a very good season.
HOW THEY GOT THERE.
Derry junior champions, Lissan, reached their third Derry junior championship final in successive years, this year going on to beat Glack in a closely contested final by a goal. That put them through to an opening round game in the Ulster junior club championship against Cavan champions Drung which they won by six points and they went on to beat St John’s from Down in the semi-final with two points in that one at the finish.
Having defeated Clones quite easily in the final of the Westenra Hotel sponsored Monaghan junior football championship Drumhowan then went on to defeat Carndonagh from Donegal by five points in Clones and easily accounted for Belfast side McDermotts in the semi-final with a 16 points winning margin at the finish. In those games both sides showed similar tendencies with Drumhowan mounting strong second half performances in both matches particularly their opening game and it took a similar effort by Lissan to get over the challenge of St John’s in a closely contested Ulster semi-final.
THE RESULTS.
Lissan:
Lissan 1-11, Drung 0-8
Lissan 0-14, St. John’s 1-9.
Drumhowan.
Drumhowan 0-11, Carndonagh 0-6
Drumhowan 3-12, McDermotts 0-5.
The results of those two matches so far show that Lissan have scored 0-14 in each game while in the case of Drumhowan they have averaged 1-13 for over the two matches. Against that Lissan has conceded an average of 0-10 but Drumhowan have conceded just over 0-5 in each match. Drumhowan would look to have the better defensive record but that has to be taken in the context of the quality of the opposition in their semi-final.
Looking at Lissan’s form through the Derry championship and their form so far in Ulster they like to establish an early foothold in their matches and early goals have proved crucial for them in more than one of those games. Drumhowan on the other hand took a little time to get into their stride in both their games in Ulster so far are but once they did they proved far superior to the opposition. On this occasion though they will be up against a team that has competed in three Derry junior finals in a row and has defeated quality opposition in their two games in Ulster so far so Drumhowan will certainly not need to concede any ground either early on or late on. The Derry side too will be encouraged by the fact that the county has a team in each of the three club finals that are being played this weekend. Their intermediate champions Greenlough play in the intermediate final on Saturday while their senior champions Ballinderry form the second part of the double bill in Brewster Park when they take on Ulster club championship specialists Crossmaglen Rangers. From the point of view of experienced players both sides have what they could term as veterans with Drumhowan’s Steven McGinnity going strong at 38 years of age while Lissan’s Michael McCracken, who is also the chairman of the club, qualifies to play for the county over 40s but shows no signs of letting up.
All in all it promises to be a fast opened game with little between the sides and perhaps the odd half chance or even a poached goal making the difference at the finish.
POSSIBLE LINE OUTS.
Drumhowan: Enda Duffy, Darren Duffy, Liam McGuirk, Martin McElroy, Damien Duffy, Niall Mooney, Kevin Mooney, Enda McElroy, Dermot McDermott, Rodney Mooney, Gerard Duffy, Colm Lambe, Kieran Mooney, James McElroy, Stephen McGinnity.
Lissan: Ciaran Loane, Peter Canavan, Oran Donnelly, Barry McGarvey, Barry McCrory, Gerard Donnelly, Ronan Laverty, Kevin O’Hagan, Niall Convery, Shane McGlone, Ciaran Donnelly, Stephen McCrory, Peter McGlone, Patrick Coey, Darren Donnelly
