Football

McMahon not thinking about the target on Emyvale's backs

Having previously won Ulster junior club titles in 2013 (pictured) and 2009, Monaghan champions Emyvale enter the provincial series as favourites.
Having previously won Ulster junior club titles in 2013 (pictured) and 2009, Monaghan champions Emyvale enter the provincial series as favourites. Having previously won Ulster junior club titles in 2013 (pictured) and 2009, Monaghan champions Emyvale enter the provincial series as favourites.

AIB Ulster Club Junior Football Championship: Drumlane (Cavan) v Emyvale (Monaghan) (today, 2.30pm, Kildallan)

AS the only past winners in this year’s Ulster Junior Football Championship, and given Monaghan’s strong record in the competition, the weight of expectation will fall decidedly on Emyvale.

They’ve won the provincial title at this grade twice, first in 2009 and then five years ago when they overcame Killeeshil in a gritty decider.

That was a game decided by the fist of Daniel McMahon, who got on to a Karl McQuaid cross to punch home the only goal in a 1-6 to 0-6 win.

A shot at an All-Ireland was only narrowly whisked away from them when they lost the semi-final by a single point to Two Mile House, who went on to win it.

“When you lose an All-Ireland semi-final, it’s gonna hurt,” says McMahon.

“A lot of players, including myself, it hurt and it takes a wee while to get over. But you get over them and go on about it the next year, and hopefully you’ll get back there some day at some level. We were hoping maybe intermediate.

“Yeah it hurts, but there’s nothing we can do about it now. It’s a game of football and we weren’t good enough, that was it.”

It was his sharp-shooting that once more stood out in their comprehensive Monaghan junior final win over Cremartin at the beginning of this month.

They hadn’t really intended to be back at this level, as he says.

In the two years after their last success, they were edging towards the top end of the intermediate grade, but fell back in 2016 and suffered relegation back to junior last year.

But by the admission of the 28-year-old forward, who now skippers the side, they’d stopped pushing upwards and started to rest on their laurels a bit.

“We were just keeping ourselves comfortable enough around the middle of intermediate, but last year we had a lot of lads away and a lot of injuries, it was just a poor year,” said McMahon.

“The players didn’t perform, we didn’t win enough games and we got relegated because we weren’t good enough, it was that simple.”

Every cloud, silver lining and all that. Declan Loughman, former Monaghan star and 12-time county SFC winner with Castleblayney, took charge and they’ve lost just one game this year.

The biggest squeeze they got in the county was in the first round against Clones, but the margin of victory over a fancied Cremartin two weeks ago leaves them heading into Ulster with the expectation that they’ll claim a third title in a decade.

McMahon insists that Emyvale have not lifted their heads beyond this afternoon’s preliminary round meeting with a Drumlane side that only won the Cavan junior title for the first time in 19 years last when they shocked Killinkere on Sunday past.

“Yeah that’s maybe what other teams would think, but we still have a good bunch of players that have never played in Ulster,” said the Emyvale skipper.

“Other teams are probably thinking Emyvale fancy themselves but we haven’t thought one bit like that. It’s a new year, new players, new management and it’s about taking one game at a time.

“It’s a bonus territory and everyone’s going to give it their all, because you only get one chance at it. Hopefully you can get a good run.

“You probably would feel that we might be targeted, but we haven’t thought too much about it. It wouldn’t be that we’re under pressure as such.”

McMahon, who works in the accounts department for interior fit-out specialists Errigal Contracts, admits that their opponents’ short turnaround from winning a county title is “not ideal” for them, but with the feeling that the Cremartin game was the first time all year Emyvale – who include Allstar nominee Ryan McAnespie at centre-back – hit their straps, they’re gunning for improvement.

“They’ve won their county championship, and every team wants to progress further. They’ll regroup during the week and I’m sure they’ll go full tilt at it.

“It’ll be a tough game, they’re Cavan champions and we’ll have our hands full with them. We need another good performance like the county final.

“We know if we don’t produce another performance at that level, it won’t be good enough probably.”