WHEN former Derry manager Brian McIver pulls the car out of his drive at home in Ballinderry on Sunday afternoon, he’ll have a choice to make: Owenbeg or Newry?
His son Michael will already be in the changing room at the Dungiven venue, gearing up for their native club’s eagerly awaited semi-final with reigning holders Slaughtneil.
At Pairc Esler, Michael’s brother Paul will be stepping out as manager of Kilcoo, hoping to guide them to a fifth straight Down championship when they take on Clonduff, which throws in half an hour later.
“He may sit in the house and try and get two TVs set up and find two live streams,” laughs Michael.
“There’ll be no way he’ll get to both but I’m sure he’ll keep an eye on them both and hopefully it’ll be two wins and all happy households.”
The brothers have met before, when Paul was in charge of Dromore back in 2012 and took them to a narrow Ulster Club victory over the Shamrocks at Healy Park.
There is a lot for both still to do before they can consider the prospect of another meeting this autumn.
A crowd of over 5,000 is expected to descend on Owenbeg for the meeting between the two sides that have shared the last five Championships between them.
Ballinderry beat Slaughtneil in the 2012 final, before the Emmet’s took their revenge in 2014. Back as far as Slaughtneil’s first ever county title 12 years ago, meetings between the two have been decided by a kick of a ball.
“We started off the championship like every club does, you want to win it,” says Michael McIver.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s a Slaughtneil or a Ballinascreen or a Magherafelt or any team in the semi-final, it’s a team you have to beat.
“We want to get to a final and obviously win it. Because it is Slaughtneil, it’ll be a huge game. They’ve won the last two championships, they’ve won the four before that, so for the spectators it should definitely be a great game.”
Having turned 30, McIver says he’s entered the stage of his career in which he’s grateful for every time he goes out wearing the famous white and blue.
“Last year I tore the hamstring, and I tore the quad this year, so it’s coming to that time of your career where you appreciate every game.
“You’d love to call time on your own career instead of an injury calling time on you. When you miss a month or two every year, it’s hard to get back up to that level and you’re playing catch-up for a while.”
The primary school teacher at New Row in Castledawson was one of few 30-plusses on the Ballinderry side for their round two win over Banagher last week.
Only Conleith Gilligan and Kevin McGuckin of the 2002 team started. There’s been a gradual changing of the guard over the past few seasons, yet they remain at the forefront in Derry.
“Everybody turns up in January looking a spot. Nobody’s given special treatment. Enda was hurt, Kevin and Deets played. If they weren’t good enough they wouldn’t be on.
“They’re doing the right things in training and they’re great leaders in our team. When they do go, they’ll be very much missed, but it’ll be up to some of the younger boys or some of the boys in their mid-20s.
“Connor Nevin has been outstanding all year, and he’d still be relatively young within our team. He seems older because he’s been around so long. He’s revelling in the captain’s role and is playing really, really well.”
The return of a straight knockout championship in Derry this year was something that the players themselves wanted, and most clubs agreed with – though Ballinderry and Slaughtneil were both against it.
But even for McIver the ‘new’ format is a relatively unusual experience.
“I’d actually only played in two years’ straight knockout [2005 and 2006]. Round robins and group stages, for most boys playing football, is just part and parcel of it, it’s the only thing we’re used to.
“Most teams and players in their mid-20s and early 20s, all they know is the group stages or a back door chance. Maybe our silver-haired men, it’s given them a taste of what their younger career was.
“The likes of Enda [Muldoon] and Kevin [McGuckin] and Deets [Conleith Gilligan] would have experienced quite a few knockouts before that, but the younger boys like Ryan Sucky [Bell] and Gareth [McKinless], they know nothing but that.
“We all knew at the start of the year that straight knockout would add a bit more spice to it and probably encourage people to go to the games, and watch each other and keep an eye on results.
“Teams in previous years have lost games and gone further than the teams that beat them,” he says.
