McDermott wants Belcoo to prove doubters wrong

WINNING the Fermanagh Intermediate Football Championship on Sunday would be a major story of resilience and character for Belcoo and their captain Dean McDermott.
The O’Rahilly’s put a challenging league campaign behind them to romp to the championship final, where they’re now just 60 minutes away from getting their hands on some coveted silverware.
McDermott, who is playing senior football for Belcoo for the past 11 years, feels that getting through to the decider is the just rewards for the efforts of the players.
“We’re happy with where we’ve ended up. In the midst of all the tough league campaign, we changed our sights to maintain our status in intermediate,” McDermott said.
“We have come together pretty well and lifted the standards over the past few games. With the year we’ve had, it will be a good statement that we finished the season so well and made it to the final.”
The O’Rahilly’s were relegated to Division Two after losing eight of their nine league games, while conceding against Derrygonnelly.
Peter Clarke’s hand was bolstered for championship though with the return of experienced campaigners including the McGrath brothers, Paul and James, Seamus Conlon, Eoin Shiels and Barry McGovern.
The Belcoo captain feels the team showed good resilience to bounce back.
“Character has always been in the group,” explained McDermott.
“The nature of the year we’ve had with missing numbers and injuries and in the community, with the hard time the people of Belcoo have had, coming through all of it has shown good character.
“I knew it was in the team and knew we had the ability to bounce back and it’s nice to be able to demonstrate that for everyone to see.”
But McDermott recognises that Belcoo will face their stiffest challenge on Sunday, when they take on the fancied Irvinestown in the final.
“It can’t be a bigger challenge. They finished third in Division One and we had a real tough league,” he said.
“We know how good they are and Sunday takes the pressure off us because we know the expected outcome and we jut have to focus on ourseves. They were top seeds in the championship for a reason.”
The O’Rahilly’s captain also feels there’s a young cohort of players in Belcoo who are capable of putting in a strong performance.
“There are ready-made leaders coming through,” said McDermott.
“Josh [Killilea] is a good 10 years younger than me and he is every bit the leader that us older boys are. There are fellas on that can bring us older boys up to speed.”
If Belcoo were to win the championship on Sunday, it would see them make their much-anticipated return to the top tier in Fermanagh. McDermott feels it would be what the club deserves.
“It’s an exciting time and the committee are putting a lot of work in,” he added.
“Anybody that has been down to the pitch will see the development tha has gone on and the drive for future fundraising.
“I can’t fault the committee. When times wre tough at the start of the year, they sat down with some of us and asked what they could do to help and that’s a huge part of why we’re still playing football in October.”