Athletic gunning for Junior Cup glory on May Day Bank Holiday

SHOULD Coalisland Athletic capture the fonaCAB Irish Junior Cup for the first time in the club’s history on May Day Bank Holiday Monday some will argue that the Tyrone outfit did it the hard way.

In fairness it would be hard to dispute that claim should David Magee’s men come out on top against Bangor Young Men at The National Stadium.

Athletic have had an impressive run to the final, especially from the last-16 on. From that point Athletic have taken out three big guns from the Fermanagh and Western League, NFC Kesh, winners in 2002; Tummery Athletic, beaten finalists in 2019 and recently crowned F&W Division One champions, and Strathroy Harps, back-to-back Junior Cup winners in 2012 and 2013.

It does seem this could be Coalisland’s year to lift the most prized silverware in junior football. Reaching the final has been a major achievement for Magee and his players but the manager insists it’s the people before him who should get the credit for Athletic playing the showpiece final at Windsor Park.

“The club has been trying to do this for 16 years and to get here now is just unreal,” said Magee, who before joining Coalisland was heavily involved with Dungannon United Youth and Dungannon Swifts.

“The town has been great, everyone is talking about it. People who previously showed no interest in the club are asking about it.

“I just came on board this season, I have come into a very good team to be fair. I have given my thoughts on things and worked hard myself but there are boys before me who have kept this team going for years in the town and have tried to win it.

“You look at the start, you have the likes of Ciaran Devlin and the Sweeneys, Paul and the late Noel. They were great men who kept this club going year after year. They have tried to win this Holy Grail long many a time.

“You have PJ Lavery and Gary Coney who are still playing. They managed the team in the past few years and asked me to come on board this year, given my involvement with Dungannon Youth and the Swifts I suppose.

“I’ve really enjoyed it. The difference this year is that there are a few men on the way out and they wanted to give it one big shot. They have gone for it. The whole community has been great.”

Since defeating Strathroy Harps 2-1 in the semi-final at Stangmore Park, Coalisland have suffered a rare league defeat and on Saturday were defeated 1-0 by intermediate side Fivemiletown United in the Marshall Cup.

At first glance those games wouldn’t be considered ideal preparation for arguably the biggest day in the club’s history but all is not what it seems. Magee insists everything has been geared towards Monday and to ensure that Coalisland would be at full strength when lining out against Bangor.

“We have put all our eggs in the one basket. We lost a league match two or three weeks ago and lost a Marshall Cup match on Saturday because we are fully focused on Monday,” he continued.

“With some boys playing Gaelic we are trying to keep everyone happy and on board and the main focus has been the Junior Cup.

“This week the total focus is on the Junior final. Everyone is fighting fit with Cian Ferguson and Shea Conway back and available while Stephen Corr and Daryl Magee have shaken off knocks.”

Magee, too, has done his homework on the opposition and insists he has no real concerns around the players coping with the magnitude of the occasion itself.

“I was down at the other semi-final at Solitude and I have a friend who lives in Bangor as well; he has been to their last couple of league games,” Magee added.

“They’re a big strong team, physical with two big men up top. I know quite a bit about them; I have notes galore. I’m sure they have done the same on us as well.

“Mind you anyone who has watched us in recent weeks wouldn’t have watched us with our full quota (of players). Even in the semi-final we hadn’t everyone available.

“A lot of our boys are GAA players and they have played in front of big crowds. That side of things has no worries for me. Maybe the occasion of being there might affect them with nerves and stuff but if you didn’t have some nerves then something would be wrong.”