Football

Tyrone's Rory Brennan focussing on Trillick due to Covid concern

Rory Brennan is unsure if he will see inter-county action this year due to Covid-19.<br />Pic: Philip Walsh
Rory Brennan is unsure if he will see inter-county action this year due to Covid-19.
Pic: Philip Walsh
Rory Brennan is unsure if he will see inter-county action this year due to Covid-19.
Pic: Philip Walsh

TYRONE defender Rory Brennan says it's important to make the most of the opportunity to play club football because the inter-county season may not resume.

Spikes and clusters continue to offer chilling reminders that Covid-19 poses an ongoing threat, and every sector of society is vulnerable.

Brennan believes that in an atmosphere of uncertainty, it's futile to look too far ahead.

"You have to make the most of the time that you have, because at any stage it could just be called.

"So you have to prolong the season as much as you can, take it one day at a time," he said.

"That's the nature of the Covid. You don't know, you just have to take each day at a time and see what way it develops. You can only look so far ahead."

In the meantime, he has immersed himself in the club scene with county champions Trillick.

The O'Neill Cup holders negotiated a tricky first round tie against reigning Intermediate champions Galbally to set up a quarter-final meeting with Killyclogher.

"That's the year that's in it and everybody is in the same boat, but we're happy to get any football at all."

The silver lining for clubs amid the current public health crisis is that they are enjoying unfettered access to their county players during a reshaped, condensed season.

And Brennan is grateful for the opportunity to dedicate himself to just one team at a time when he normally has to serve two masters.

"It's nice to get a clear run at it, and it's nice to get playing any football at all, after the year that's in it.

"We weren't sure if we were going to get football at all, so we're just glad to get back to the club, get back playing a bit of football, and hopefully we can keep it going."

Trillick looked rusty in their Championship opener against newly promoted Galbally, and an early Simon Garrity goal laid the platform for a less than comfortable five points win.

"That's what first rounds are for, they're for getting through them," said Brennan.

"We knew Galbally were going to put it up to us, they have some great talent coming through. They showed what they were made of last year in Intermediate, and we were under no illusions that it was going to be nothing other than a battle, and that's what they brought to us.

"And I suppose only for the soft goal in the first half, it could have been tighter near the end.

"But luckily that bit of experience stood to us in the end, and we picked off those couple of scores."

The Pearses brought a highly disciplined defensive strategy to the Healy Park contest, and in the end, it was the long range place-kicking of Brennan's younger brother and former Tyrone team-mate Lee that made the difference.

"We have come to expect that from Lee now, we kinda take it for granted. The way Galbally were set up, we weren't getting much luck from play.

"But when we drove at them and won those frees, thankfully Lee stood up to the plate and he put them dead."