TYRONE attacker Mark Bradley senses the hunger of a Fermanagh side seeking a first Dr McKenna Cup title in almost two decades.
The Erne men, who last won the trophy in 1997, are preparing for a semi-final clash with a Red Hand outfit that has dominated the competition in recent seasons and remains on track for a fifth successive success.
Both counties breezed through their respective groups with three straight wins and their managers are keen to go further. Mickey Harte appreciates the opportunity to provide additional game time for emerging players while, for Pete McGrath, Sunday’s Clones encounter will offer an important gauge as to how far his improving team has progressed.
“I see Seán Quigley was writing that it would be great to get a bit of silverware in the county, and they all count,” said Bradley.
“I don’t know when the last time was when Fermanagh won the McKenna Cup, but they have won it. You see how well they did last year up against the Dubs, so it’s not going to be an easy test by any means, so hopefully it will be a good game and very competitive. It’s a competition and we’re all out to win it, so hopefully we can get another one.”
Tyrone struggled to break down Antrim’s stubborn defence at Healy Park on Wednesday night and, while they did bag two goals, they could only manage one point from play.
“I can’t put my finger on it. Antrim were hard to break down, they had a lot of men back and I suppose we were guilty of not committing a lot of men forward, maybe a bit cautious of Antrim getting us on the break," Bradley said.
“The amount of mistakes we made were far from perfect, we were very below par. The amount of unforced errors was pretty ridiculous and not what we would expect. I know I was guilty of that as well, taking too much out of the ball. We were getting the ball forward and, bar getting pulled a few times, we might have gone on to progress to more goal chances.”
On the plus side, the Red Hands kept a clean sheet three days after conceding four goals to Derry in a high-scoring tie at Owenbeg: “Derry got four against us, so we were happy with that there [not to concede]. It was good to get a clean sheet after conceding four goals," Bradley added.
“Derry got two penalties and the luck of the way the ball dropped for another goal and I think, other than for that, we might have kept them out on another day. We didn’t have much time after Derry. We had very little training in between the Derry game and the Antrim game, but we tried to cut Antrim out high up the field.”
Providing at least four competitive games, and the possibility of a fifth, ahead of the start of the National Football League at the end of the month, the McKenna Cup continues to serve as a valuable pre-season tool in Tyrone’s build-up to the season. New recruits to the squad have been afforded the opportunity to find their feet and demonstrate they have what it takes to make it at the top level.
“The actual game time we have is massive and it’s a competition that we’re there to win. You see the likes of Hugh Pat McGeary coming in and getting the man of the match. You just see how those boys are progressing game in, game out,” Bradley said.
