Ulster Club Intermediate Football Championship semi-final: St Enda’s, Glengormley (Antrim) v Tattyreagh, St Patrick’s (Tyrone) (tonight, Athletic Grounds, 7pm)
TATTYREAGH are not the only side enjoying a season from their dreams as St Enda’s try to add to their own bit of history in Armagh this evening.
The Glengormley men claimed their first ever championship title at senior level with a win over Gort na Mona last month in the Antrim Intermediate final. They then followed it up with a fantastic Ulster quarter-final over one of the veterans of the competition, Doohamlet.
Perhaps weighed down by expectation, Frank Fitzsimons’s side rarely found top gear in the county final but they did improve massively in the second half. With Eoin Nagle, Odhran Eastwood, Ruairi Scott and Donal Walsh all finishing with three points each, they were able to record a five-point victory.
They knew that a much improved performance was required against the Monaghan side, and they had little problem producing it as they eased to a 2-15 to 3-5 win.
Nagle and Eastwood again grabbed 0-3 apiece while Scott and Kristian Healy grabbed their goals.
It’s in attack where St Enda’s really have a cutting edge and they have done brilliantly to take through a number of the stars that helped the club claim the Paul McGirr U16 title in 2012.
Scott, Eastwood and Walsh are all products of that side and there is a feeling that there are even brighter days ahead for the progressive north Belfast club.
Before that though, they will try to navigate a way past Tattyreagh, whose fans must still be scratching their heads and wondering what’s going on.
At the start of the 2017 season, those loyal supporters had never experienced championship success at senior level but now they have Junior and Intermediate winning memories to look back on fondly.
Crucially, Stephen McHugh’s side seem have taken a lot from last year’s Ulster campaign.
Last season they went into Ulster just happy to be there but after beating a highly-rated Currin outfit, belief grew that they could go all the way. Those ambitions came to a halt at the semi-final stage in heart-breaking fashion.
The Red Hand outfit had battled back from five points down against Naomh Colmcille and were pushing hard to snatch a winner, but it was the Donegal champions that found it four minutes into stoppage time.
Tattyreagh had a chance to close that game out, James Darcy missing a free to put them in front late on, but perhaps it was the lessons learned from that loss that got them through two weeks ago against St Peter’s.
Darcy, Gareth Mimnagh and Jalrath McDonagh all found the net but they had to defend stoutly against a second-half fightback from the Lurgan men.
This time they got the job done and, like last year, they will now be looking at the possibility of a provincial title to add to their county win.
In a game where the margins are expected to be almost non-existent, that wee bit of learning from last year might allow the Tatts to continue the fairy-tale for one more round at least.
