AIB Ulster Club IFC semi-final: St Malachy’s, Castledawson (Derry ) v Pomeroy Plunketts (Tyrone) (tomorrow, Athletic Grounds, 12.45pm)
The 2016 season is already Castledawson’s most successful in Ulster club football, and it could get a whole lot better for the Derry side tomorrow.
In previous provincial campaigns in 2009 and 2014, they failed to get past the opening round, and having recorded a first win with this year’s quarter-final victory over Whitecross, they find themselves just 60 minutes away from the IFC final.
Previous winners Pomeroy stand in their way at the Athletic Grounds, where a clash of styles makes for an intriguing semi-final encounter.
“We’ve been in three Ulster games, and that was the first time we ever won one,” said Castledawson manager Philip Bradley.
“So it was a big moment for ourselves and we’d like the journey to continue.
“This is the biggest game our club has ever played in, so it’s a big day for the whole community.”
Centre-back Paddy Henry is rated as 50-50 for tomorrow’s tie after limping off with a hamstring problem in the win over Whitecross at Owenbeg, and midfielder Aidan McElhone, who missed the last round due to injury, is another doubt – two key men who Bradley desperately wants to have in his side.
“They’re two massive players for us,” he said.
Tyrone champions Pomeroy go in with a clean bill of health, apart from a few niggles, and despite the impressive manner with which they saw off Arva of Cavan, their manager Mark Harte insists improvement is vital if they are to get the better of the St Malachy’s.
“The boys realise that the standard of our performances so far will not beat Castledawson on Sunday. We’re going to have to step it up,” said Harte.
“They finished very strongly in the last game against a very strong Whitecross team. It’s definitely going to be a battle and a real test of where we’re at.”
Whitecross led Castledawson 2-8 to 1-6 at half-time in that game but the Derry champions lifted their game in the second half.
Aidan Keenan, Conor Taggart and Niall McNicholl produced the goods up front as they emerged with a 2-14 to 2-10 win, and they will be the men to watch once again in the semi.
Manager Bradley has had to rely on video footage to assess his opponents, but he does expect Pomeroy to play the Tyrone way.
“Club teams tend to do what their county team does,” he said.
“They attack from deep with runners off the shoulder, and they’re hard to stop.
“We played a couple of Tyrone teams in challenge games this year, and they played the same way, where they try to build deep and then hit you on the break with pace.
“Every man will have to be on his game on the day, go man-to-man all over, and hopefully it will see us through.”
Plunketts boss Harte is also relying on second-hand information, but he needs no convincing of the quality of this weekend’s opponents.
“They’re very impressive. Even the fact that they have won three Derry championships over the last six or seven years speaks volumes, because it’s a very hard county to come out of,” he said.
“Every ball is going to be priceless. It’s probably going to be wet conditions, and it’s going to come down to those little breaks that will make all the difference.
“They’re probably more experienced at this level than what the Pomeroy team would be, so we’re going to have to dig deep and get the best performance out of ourselves, and we’ll see where that takes us.”
Skipper Hugh Pat McGeary leads the Pomeroy challenge, along with fellow county panellists Kieran McGeary and Frank Burns.
They have a handful of survivors from the Ulster IFC-winning team of 2004, including the in-form Denver Nugent, while emerging stars like midfielder Ryan Loughran have taken on leading roles.
“They have had to, because we have had a tough championship run right the way through Tyrone, and you don’t get much time in the Tyrone championship to try and ease yourself in, you have to go for it, and the Derry championship is the exact same,” said Harte.
“Whereas Castledawson are experienced, this Pomeroy team are growing gradually. It’s just a matter of whether they’ve grown enough to get over the line on Sunday, and we’ll know that when the game happens.”
