Before a ball was kicked in the Junior Football Championship, Lisnaskea Emmett’s was tipped by many as the outright favourites to lift the title.
This Sunday, Lisnaskea will again be carrying the favourites tag against Aghadrumsee and Emmett’s manager John Reihill is adamant that his youthful side won’t be fazed by the pressure.
“We’ve just been taking it step by step and one game at a time. We have never seen ourselves as favourites,” said the Enniskillen man.
“Having played the teams in the league, we knew that it was going to be a very tough championship and that has proved to be the case and every championship game has been hard fought.”
Despite Reihill playing down Lisnaskea’s championship campaign, the Emmett’s have been the dominant force, brushing Brookeborough aside with ease in the first round.
Coincidently, their toughest game in the championship was against this Sunday’s opponents, Aghadrumsee. In the semi-final, Lisnaskea just beat the Magpies by one point on a scoreline of 1-11 to 2-07.
Reflecting on that game, Reihill feels his side learned a lot against Mickey Cadden’s Aghadrumsee.
“We knew that they have some very talented footballers and it was a hard fought game,” said the Holy Trinity Primary School vice principal.
“We were pleased with our first half performance, but we were disappointed with our performance in the second half. The conditions didn’t help and we got two black cards in that game.
“That game was a pre-cursor to this game and we know that on Sunday, it’s going to be another battle,” added Reihill.
Reihill, a former Fermanagh player and coach, has been paying close attention to Aghadrumsee’s results and he’s been very impressed by some of their performances.
“They’re (Aghadrumsee) strong and steady around the middle and their main strength is in attack,” said the Lisnaskea manager, who is in his second year in charge.
“Eddie Courtney, Enda McCabe and Dale Crudden could all be in their full forward line and they do like to give the ball in and they’re all dangerous (inside).
“Their main strength is in their attack and it’s the most dangerous side of the game,” explained Reihill.
Since their All-Ireland Intermediate Championship win in 2011, Lisnaskea have endured a barron run. There’s been a big change over in personnel, acknowledged Reihill.
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