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YOUTH| Paul Mc Girr Tournament Begins.
Friday 30.10.2015
The Paul McGirr U16 Club Champions Tournament kicks off in style this weekend with the preliminary round derby fixture between Fermanagh champions Enniskillen Gaels and newly crowned Tyrone champions Dromore who defeated Loughmacrory last weekend after a replay.
It was Dromore’s first title at this level since 1998 and the win has provided them with a chance to represent their club and county at Ulster level for the first time on their home pitch. It will be a massive occasion for the host club and according to joint manager Joe Rafferty it is an occasion which they are certainly looking forward to.
“Having had a huge involvement in the tournament myself over the last few years and having watched it grow into what is probably the premier youth football tournament in the country it has always been a dream to watch my own club taking part. It will be a memorable occasion not only for the team but for the entire club and parish and I have no doubt there will be a huge Dromore support there to cheer the boys on.While traditionally Tyrone teams have not done well in the competition we certainly hope to give it a good shot this year. We have struggled with serious injuries to key players thoughout the season all came good for us in the end and our performance against Loughmacrory in the championship final replay last Saturday will certainly give the boys a huge boost coming into this game. We have a strong spine with Ruairi Teague, Mark McGread and Caolan Slevin at the back and a good midfield partnership in Cahir Goodwin and Nathan McCarron. Caolan McCarron, Oran Sludden and John MacRory have been the scorers in chief but the return of Odhran Rafferty after long term injury has proven to be a big boost in the last few weeks. However, we are under no illusions as to the task ahead of us in Ulster and the way in which Enniskillen demolished Ederney in the county final a few weeks ago shows the enormity of the task ahead of us. It will be a proud day for the club and hopefully the Dromore boys can give the local fans something to cheer about.”
Rafferty and his fellow management team of Niall McNulty, Brian McCarron and Conor O’Hara will be hoping to kick on from last weekend’s Tyrone final win and secure a quarter final berth.
Enniskillen cruised to a 52 point win in the Fermanagh final and this is certainly one of the strongest underage team to emerge from the Erne county in recent years. Managed by Niall Jones, James Reihill and Raymond Curran the Gaels game plan revolves a lot around the towering midfield duo of captain Eoin Beacom and hard working Patrick Cassidy. Gavin Greene is an attacking half back of note and the forward line features the promising John Reihill, Ronan Beattie and Conor Love who top scored in their county final.
This local derby promises to be a tight affair and one that is very hard to call. The game throws in at 2:30 in Gardrum Park this Saturday and all proceeds from the gate go the The Spirit Of Paul McGirr Trust.
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