Mannok Fermanagh Senior Football Championship
When Ryan Jones leads Derrygonnelly out this weekend at Canon Maguire Park for their meeting with Teemore, it will see the midfielder embark on his 16th championship campaign with the Harps.
Jones made his championship bow back in 2007 as a 16-year-old against Enniskillen Gaels and to date has seven championship medals tucked away, including six as captain in the last seven years.
The only blot on that recent record was in 2020 when they lost in the final to Ederney, but they bounced back from that last year to not only regain their Fermanagh title but also progress to a first ever Ulster final.
That was to prove a tough day for the Harps as they were put to the sword by an excellent Kilcoo side who went on to land the All-Ireland title, but that Ulster stage is one that Jones would like Derrygonnelly to test themselves on again - although he knows that they are a long way from that at present.
First of all, they must navigate the Fermanagh championship, one that appears to be very competitive this year.
“You want to be competing against the best teams in Ulster and we would love to be back there, but that’s not in our thoughts," Jones said.
“We know that Fermanagh is going to be very competitive and any of the eight teams will feel that they can win it. You can only look to the next game, you can’t look any further."
There were questions as to whether Derrygonnelly could get back to being top dogs in Fermanagh after that loss to Ederney in 2020. And Jones admits that it was a defeat that played on their mind for a long time afterwards.
“It was a blow. It is on your mind for a long number of months, and it follows through to the next year."
“We had gone five years unbeaten in Fermanagh, that’s a lot of championship matches, and even in 2020 we won our quarter final and semi-final to reach the final and to then be beaten; it was a blow.
“But that’s sport and if you are not at the level then anyone can beat you. It will be the same this year, if you are not at the level then you won’t win."
The Harps though regrouped after that loss and reclaimed the New York Cup last year. The draw for the quarter-final paired them with Ederney and it was a chance to put right the defeat of the previous year.
It was a ding-dong contest which required extra time in a replay to separate them but it was Derrygonnelly who prevailed.
“I suppose the run had to come to an end at some stage so then last year we just reset and decided to try and get back to the top and improve on what we done the year before.
“The next thing we were drawn against Ederney, who were the team who beat us, and in a lot of people’s eyes they were the best team in Fermanagh at that moment in time, so it was definitely nice to get over that hurdle and then build throughout the championship.”
That was followed by a replay win over Kinawley in the semi-final and victory over Enniskillen in the final and Jones is in no doubt that their character shone through in that run to the title.
“There was a lot of battles to win that championship, it wasn’t plain sailing, we had two replays and it is down to small margins. We have played a lot of games where it has been very, very tight and we have come out on the right side of it and that doesn’t happen by luck either.
“I think it shows good character within the team and that’s maybe what we tried to bring back last year, that every man was willing to fight to the very end.
“It was definitely sweet to win after the year before.”
The win spurred on the Harps who then went on a run to the Ulster final, seeing off Dromore and Clann Eireann along the way.
“That win over Dromore in Carrickmore was another where we showed our character, it was toe-to-toe, and we edged it in extra-time.
“When we got over that we reset and got ready for the next challenge. That’s the way we approach the championship every year,” he stated.
Derrygonnelly had made steady progress in Ulster in recent years. They ran Kilcoo close in the semi-final in 2019 and now it was the same opponent who lay ahead in last year’s final.
On the day though the Mourne outfit blew away Derrygonnelly’s challenge and Jones admits that they were simply beaten by a better team.
“Sometimes you just have to say that you are second best and you have come up against a team that was better than you.
“Maybe there was a few things we could have done better but, by and large, we were up against a team that were extremely well-drilled, unbelievably well-conditioned and very hungry. They were just better than us and we need to strive to try and improve,” he said.
And so, Jones and Derrygonnelly are getting ready for another championship campaign and the Derrygonnelly captain says that all those wins and medals haven’t lessened his hunger, instead they drive it on in the search for more.
“If you love winning and you love going out to play football, and you are fit to do it, then of course it is not too hard to motivate yourself,” he said.
“Yes, there is lots of nights that you would rather sit in and not go to training but once you get down to those big games; quarter finals, semi-finals, finals in Brewster Park or wherever it may be, that’s what you are training for, so it doesn’t take too much motivation.
“When you are at the top table and you are winning or are there or thereabouts that makes it worthwhile to go out and keep going,” he stated.
Jones knows though that this year could be the toughest championship to win yet with a lot of the teams in the competition fancying their chances of going the whole way.
“As I said, every team that is playing in the senior championship will feel that they can win it,” said Jones, who explained that even the two bottom seeds will be no pushovers.
“People might say that Teemore are playing Division Two football, but they have always been competitive in the senior championship, and they have that history.
“Roslea were relegated this year, but it is not that long ago that they were playing in a championship final. We played them in 2019 in the final and it was one of the toughest games we have had over the last few years. They are still a forceful championship team.
“Any of the other six will feel that they can win it, it is going to be very tough.”
A change of format this year sees the straight knock out replaced by round robin group stages which allows for a slip up along the way, which is not a bad thing according to Jones.
“Previously if a team had a bad day, then they were gone but this way they have an opportunity to get it right with three group games. There is a lot of people talking about the club championship and they are looking at the different games and the fact that you have a home game and an away game and then you finish up with one at a neutral venue. I think it is going to be very exciting,” said Jones.
Derrygonnelly begin with a home tie against Teemore and then it is an away game against Belnaleck before concluding with a meeting with league champions Erne Gaels at a neutral venue.
The Harps eyes though are solely on Barry Owens’s Teemore side.
“We have Teemore in Derrygonnelly and I have often seen Teemore playing there in championship games, and they have a very good record in it. Derrygonnelly is a tight pitch and Teemore play a traditional style of football and they have a lot of players at a high standard.
“It is definitely going to be a tough one, Teemore are one of these teams who are a different animal come championship time.”
OVERVIEW
It is all change in the Fermanagh Senior Football Championship this year with round robin group stages replacing the previous straight knock-out format.
The Senior Championship will see eight teams split into two groups of four - decided by finishing place in the league - with the groupings only finalised after last weekend’s Division One final where Erne Gaels defeated Kinawley.
Group A will consist of Erne Gaels, Derrygonnelly, Belnaleck and Teemore while Group B includes Kinawley, Enniskillen, Ederney and Roslea.
The sides will play one home and one away game before finishing with a game at a neutral venue in their final group game. The top team in the groups will automatically progress to the semi-finals, second and third will contest quarter finals while the bottom team in each group will be in the relegation play off.
This has the making of a fascinating championship and the majority of teams in the competition will fancy their chances of going all the way in the competition.
Derrygonnelly have won six of the last seven titles and they will go into the championship as favourites to retain the New York Cup – but a number of teams will have their eyes set on taking that crown of them
Erne Gaels had a great league campaign, winning ten out of ten to take the title, while Kinawley also enjoyed a good run in the league and both will be aiming to now build on that in championship.
Enniskillen reached last year’s decider and their young squad is now a year older and wiser while Ederney are the side that broke Derrygonnelly’s stranglehold in 2020 and only went out after a replay loss to Derrygonnelly last year so they too will feel they have every chance.
Belnaleck, with Che Cullen back home, will be another serious contender.
Roslea and Teemore are the two bottom seeds in the groups but both have strong championship pedigree and will relish the underdog tags.
It all makes for an intriguing championship.
