Football

Like father, like son, but Mattie will write his own history

Mattie Donnelly blocks a shot by Na Fianna's Seán Corr during Trillick's Tyrone semi-final victory 
Mattie Donnelly blocks a shot by Na Fianna's Seán Corr during Trillick's Tyrone semi-final victory  Mattie Donnelly blocks a shot by Na Fianna's Seán Corr during Trillick's Tyrone semi-final victory 

BACK in 1986, Liam Donnelly captained Trillick to the club’s last Tyrone SFC title.

Almost three decades later, his son Mattie will lead the Reds into battle in the 2015 decider, hoping to write a special piece of family history.

The O’Neill Cup was once a regular visitor to the close-knit parish on the western frontier of the Red Hand county, but the former greats have endured lean times, frozen out of the top division for extended stretches. Reinstated to senior football just this season, St Macartan’s have made a fearless, ferocious return, making it to a county final at the first attempt

“Every day you walk down the stairs, you see the pictures of those teams on the wall, so you’re reminded of it every day. But it’s great to write our own bit of history. To get to a county final is great for this club,” said Tyrone star Donnelly.

“He [Liam] was the captain in ’86, the last time they won it. It would be one for the books, but we’re not interested in those ties, we’re just interested in writing our own history and that more so would be brilliant for this group of players, that are so close, just to write their own history.”

Final opponents Killyclogher won the Division One league last year and have been building a head of steam in recent seasons, maintaining their progress with qualification for a first championship decider since 2003.

“We’re in a final now and it’s just about getting that performance out. We’re just one step away from that and it’s going to be a hum-dinger as well against probably the best team in Tyrone this last year or two. None have been as consistent as Killyclogher,” Donnelly added.

“Killyclogher, rightly so, will be big favourites. They’re league champions, they’re probably a bit further down the line in terms of development, in terms of experience, so we are going to have to produce something similar, and better, if we’re to have a chance of winning it.”

Trillick, on the other hand, are the surprise packets. No-one expected a newly promoted team to make it to a county final and the fact that they suffered a heavy defeat in last year’s IFC decider raised questions over their championship credentials.

“League football doesn’t get that much coverage, but we were very confident in the group of boys that we have. They’re very close-knit, they’re very talented," Donnelly said.

“We’ve got to a county final, and people might notice now, but we knew we were capable of that.”

Modest victories over Dungannon and Greencastle, both also senior newcomers, set up a semi-final clash with Coalisland and, at Plunkett Park in Pomeroy, the Reds hit red-hot form. A strongly fancied Fianna team was overwhelmed by the energy and passion of a Trillick side that swept to a 0-13 to 0-5 victory.

“We were big odds to win that game, we were probably written off, but rightly so, for Coalisland are a seasoned team. They’re an extremely tough team to play against and that was some physical game, as physical as I have been involved in,” he added.

“There’s a lot of talent in Trillick and the hard work and belief is there this year. We knew we had that performance in us and we have been performing to that standard all year.”

Teenager Lee Brennan fired over six points as he cemented his place as the championship’s top scorer, bringing his tally to 1-23 in three games. But it was his brother and fellow Tyrone U21 star Rory who made Trillick tick, with a masterful centre-back display complemented by piercing runs from deep.

Donnelly said: “Rory Brennan is just a brilliant leader. He has really developed into something else, off the back of that U21 performance .

“He’s so committed, he’s got an injury-free run, he’s a phenomenal athlete and he’s so driven. Boys follow in behind him, he leads by actions and some of the runs, some of the interceptions he made were just typical of how good he is. He played like a county footballer.

“He’s 21, he’s extremely young, he was centre half-back on the best U21 team in the country this year and he was a leader for them as well. He expects that of himself, we expect it of him and he delivered, like all of us.”