Confidence Can Make All The difference!

Wednesday 10.11.2010

Club

The League semi finals seemed to prove two things last weekend. Firstly following wins for Errigal and Coalisland it would appear that the top two teams in the league when it finished are really the top two teams in senior football. Secondly there is much to be said for momentum and a winning mentality. Coalisland have been steadily building up a head of steam over the past few weeks and the confidence gained by beating Carrickmore in the championship final is something that will stand to them for a long while.

Their performance in this year’s semi final is in stark contrast to the display they produced in the 2007 League Semi against Carrickmore. The Fianna had just come off the back of a heavy defeat to Dromore in the championship final two weeks before. Their confidence was shot to pieces and a team that had looked almost unbeatable three weeks previously were blown away in a flash of green and gold.

Fast forward three years and a much more self assured and confident team managed to beat a Dromore side hoping to re-establish themselves as the top league team in Tyrone. In spite of the distractions of the Ulster Club Championship Damien O’Hagan succeeded in getting his team well enough focussed and prepared to keep their chances of a league and championship double alive. One other big plus for The Fianna was the return to action of Richard Thornton and his fitness is sure to offer the manager selection troubles of the right type.

While Coalisland were putting Dromore to the sword Errigal Ciaran compounded Omagh St. Enda’s woes with a fairly comprehensive beating. Errigal have shown they have the winning mentality and with Enda Mc Ginley leading from the front, Peter Canavan’s side maintained their recent good run. Winning becomes a habit and now that Errigal are in the final the former Tyrone great will be keen to keep this good run going. All in all it has the makings of a very attractive fixture and one that is sure to draw a large crowd. One thing is for sure, there can only be one winner and we should see a much better game than their quarter final championship meeting.