Derrygonnelly captain Ryan Jones says it is massive for his side getting past a stubborn and physical Cargin side on Sunday past.
Jones was at his scintillating best throughout Sunday’s, 2-10 to 0-12 success which saw the Harps claim a first ever away win in the Ulster Senior Football Club Championship.
The Erne champions now gear themselves up for a titanic showdown with near-neighbours Trillick on Sunday November 3rd at Brewster Park.
“Coming up here today, we just thought we would give it a real go,” said Jones. “We honestly had a tough task getting out of Fermanagh, probably the toughest in any of the five senior titles we have won in recent times, just with boys away and injuries this year. We then did the double in Fermanagh and I suppose it was just refreshing really for us to be facing a side outside of Fermanagh.
“To get the win is absolutely massive. The goals were probably soft from a Cargin point of view, but we didn’t give a damn as long as they were over the line. We are in bonus territory now and we will learn from our mistakes on Sunday.
“Cargin have quality and experience with a number of fine ex-Antrim footballers, we knew they’d come back at us, but we held on and got over the line in the end thankfully.
The 28-year-old Mohill based Pharmacist can now look forward to leading his side into a battle against Trillick, a side with recent Ulster experience in 2015.
“Trillick are a serious team, they won the Tyrone County final convincingly and they’ll be massive favourites, but getting the win over Cargin for us was our aim and now anything else is a bonus.
“We know plenty about Trillick and they will know plenty about us, we have played them in a number of challenge games, although without the county boys, but we would have went to school with plenty of them at St Michael’s College in Enniskillen so it should make for a really interesting game, I’m sure they got a good look at us today and will know what to expect.”
Derrygonnelly who completed the league and championship double in recent weeks have been enjoying a golden run of form, not least the current five-in-a-row of senior football championships. For Jones having wins in the muscle memory is always a plus, but the momentum and confidence from this away victory over Cargin is crucial heading into a keenly anticipated Ulster quarter-final.
“We have been missing a number of major players this year, the likes of Paul Ward and Leigh Jones are massive losses, but it shows the strength in character from some of the younger lads to really step up to the plate, boys like Jack Love and Gavin McGovern have come in this year and really made a name for themselves.”
Derrygonnelly will no doubt be up against a formidable Trillick side on Sunday week, but it’s clear self-belief is building around Canon Maguire Park and this Cargin win will bring them on massively.
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