THE two favourites for the Ulster Intermediate Club title are indeed the last two standing in this year’s championship and will battle it out for provincial silverware in a week’s time.
Fermanagh champions Kinawley were here 12 months ago but lost out to Emmet Og of Monaghan while St Paul’s, although not newbies to the provincial championship, are playing in the middle tier for the first time in 10 years.
Antrim club football was regarded as a whole at provincial club championship level this year meaning that the senior county champions would compete in the Ulster intermediate club championship and the intermediate county champions, who are Con Magee's Glenravel would compete in the junior competition.
That decision has been frowned upon by some with many viewing St Paul’s as too strong for intermediate level, however, Fermanagh and Derry are the same when it comes to county and provincial championships and St Paul’s captain Aine Tubridy feels it was the right decision, not just from a St Paul’s perspective but for the county and Antrim club football as a whole.
“There have been comments made that St Paul’s should not be playing intermediate in Ulster, but Fermanagh have done the same thing. We have spent the last eight years playing senior club football in Ulster and I think just once we have reached the semi-finals, the other times we have been knocked out in the first round,” said Tubridy.
“You are competing against teams like Donaghmoyne, who have county players that play Division One or senior football for Monaghan, and although we have county players too, Antrim are a division four, junior championship team and there is a big difference in levels there. I know too St Brigid’s playing in intermediate club championship in Ulster last year found a real difference too.
“You train hard all year, win your county title and then be drawn against the likes of Donaghmoyne and get hammered.
“It’s very demoralsing for the players and maybe by going down to intermediate this year and we do well, that we can use it as a stepping stone to build for next year.”
St Paul’s after easing to their eighth county title in-a-row against St Gall’s back in early September have laid down a marker to the other teams in the two provincial games so far winning by 20 plus points in their defeats of Gowna in the quarter-finals and Kilcoo in the semi.
Kinawley will be a different test, a much sterner one, but the two teams should be fairly evenly matched with players on both sides well known to one another on the county front.
Kinawley’s path to the final has been more testing but they saw off Tyrone champions Cill Iseal in the quarter-finals by two points and O’Neill Shamrocks of Monaghan by a single point after extra-time in the semis.
Kinawley captain Joanne Donnan said it was great to have the opportunity again so quick to put things right after last year’s final defeat.
“We were gutted after losing the final last year. To be back so soon, you never when you will get the chance again to reach a final, it great, but we have worked really hard for the chance to get back here,” she said.
“Ulster is a difficult competition, there are so many good teams in it, and St Paul’s are there with us in the final and they will want this as much as us.
“They are a brilliant side and have the experience of playing in senior too.
“We have had two hard games to get here and hopefully that will stand to us.
“We will do our homework on them but we want to concentrate on ourselves and drive on.”
