Ulster Club Senior Football Championship quarter-final: Derrygonnelly Harps v Armagh Harps (Saturday, Brewster Park, 7pm)
THE CLASH of the Harps at Brewster Park this evening should provide an intriguing battle that pits an experienced Derrygonnelly outfit against an emerging Armagh side that is talented, but untested at provincial level.
A fortnight before Armagh Harps made their breakthrough in the Orchard county; Derrygonnelly completed three in-a-row in Fermanagh with a comfortable victory against an out-gunned Devenish side. That victory copper-fastened their status as the dominant force in the Erne county, a mantle they took from Roslea Shamrocks after they saw off the then kingpins in the 2015 decider.
Backboned by seven players from three separate Jones families, Derrygonnelly can depend on the inter-county quality of Ryan Jones and his brother Conall (the club captain) as well as tenacious defender Mickey Jones and Eamon McHugh at centre half-back.
The man that makes the side tick though is Paul Ward whose clever movement and accurate passing creates scoring chances for the likes of evergreen corner-forward Kevin Cassidy who, at 42, has recovered from a cruciate operation, to reclaim a starting role in the side.
Dominance within their own borders is one thing, but making the breakthrough outside them has eluded Derrygonnelly up to now. In their freshman year of 2015, they ran into Derry’s Slaughtneil, the reigning provincial champions, at the preliminary round stage and were well beaten at Owenbeg.
Last year they drew the same opposition – who were on their way to the All-Ireland final – and, though they closed the gap somewhat, the Emmet’s proved too strong once again.
Fermanagh champions have routinely struggled to bridge the gap between the standard of their own county championship and the leap up to Ulster level. The county has never produced an Ulster senior club winner and you have to go back 15 years, to 2002, for Fermanagh’s most recent finalists – Enniskillen Gaels.
The Gaels finished second best against Tyrone’s Errigal Ciaran back then, three years after they had lost a nail-biting decider in Clones against Crossmaglen Rangers, who went on to win the All-Ireland title.
Meanwhile, Armagh Harps captured their first Gerry Fagan Cup in 26 years with a four-point victory over defending champions Maghery on October 15. Whether they’ve had enough time to get that success, and the ensuing celebrations, out of their system won’t be clear until tonight but Derrygonnelly’s Ryan Jones says his side is prepared for a whistle-to-whistle battle.
“I know that Armagh Harps have been in three championship finals in the last four years so they have been knocking on the door,” he said.
“They’re probably like ourselves. We felt a couple of years ago that we had a team that could challenge within Fermanagh but it took a year or two for us to actually mature and be able to properly challenge for semi-finals and finals.
“They have a lot of boys who are at the right age and have been playing football at a high level, whether it’s the Armagh senior team or at club or college level or whatever it may be.
“They are going to be a very strong team. Anybody that comes out of Armagh is a serious outfit.”
That is an accurate assessment and Armagh Harps’ win over Maghery – who had beaten perennial kingpins Crossmaglen twice on their way to the Orchard county final – was underpinned by manager Joe Nugent’s smart gameplan which was tailor-made for a side packed with talented, pacey players.
The two goals that turned the game emphatically their way came early in the second half and illustrated the versatility that makes them such a dangerous proposition. The first was a length-of-the-field team move that ended with Ryan McShane lashing a shot past Maghery goalkeeper Johnny Montgomery. The second came from a route one high ball into the square that was expertly taken by full-forward Ultan Lennon, who beat Montgomery again with an equally emphatic finish.
Lennon and McShane have come through alongside Joe McElroy, Declan McKenna, Mark McConville and team captain Conor White to add energy and confidence to a side that is well marshalled by experienced inter-county duo Charlie Vernon and goalkeeper Paddy Morrison. Former Armagh forward Gareth Swift is available once again after missing the county final through suspension
Armagh Harps were firm favourites with the bookies at the start of the week and, player for player, you could certainly lean their way tonight.
Both sides play with physical, ball-winning full-forwards. Derrygonnelly have Conall Jones, while Armagh Harps have Ultan Lennon - and the midfield battle will be intense with brothers Ryan and Garvan Jones facing off against Charlie Vernon and Conor White.
Paul Ward is often the catalyst for Derrygonnelly attacks and the Fermanagh champions will need to be patient in possession because – with the likes of Joe McIlroy and Ryan McShane in their line-up - Armagh Harps have searing pace on the break.
There are several other factors to consider and experience of Ulster competition is one of them.
Derrygonnelly manager Martin Greene explained this week: “When these lads take to the field their aim will be to win that first game in Ulster for the club, we’ve never won a game in the competition in our history and that’s what we are working towards. We want to get the monkey off our back and why not Saturday?”
An engrossing battle should unfold at the Enniskillen venue and, while Armagh Harps are capable of winning this, they are an unknown quantity and there is a possibility that the victory songs that resounded around the Cathedral City after their breakthrough win will still be ringing in their ears.
Derrygonnelly’s experience over the last couple of years, the extra fortnight they’ve had to prepare for this game and home advantage gives them a slight edge before the ball is thrown in.
