County chair defends ACL fixture structure

HUNDREDS of club players across Tyrone are now counting down the weeks to the start of what promises to be another hotly contested round of matches in the All-County Leagues over the coming months.

Players representing each of the Red Hand county’s 49 clubs attended the launch of the event at Garvaghey this week. For them, the months of training are about to receive the acid test when the action begins in Divisions One, Two and Three.

Trillick are the defending champions in Division One, where they’ll be joined this year by last year’s Intermediate league champions from Eglish. Stewartstown won the Division Three title to complete the double and will return to Division Two in 2023 hopeful of making further progress.

Tyrone County Chairman, Martin Sludden, is confident that the scheduling of the matches largely on a Friday night will prove to be a winning formula. He has also said the later start is aimed at helping to secure a regular programme of fixtures for the almost 100 reserve and first-team sides putting the finishing touches to their preparations over the coming weeks.

“The players are the most important when organising these fixtures. Friday night matches are what the players wanted, to have their weekends back to spend time with family and friends,” he said.

“Our leagues are extremely high quality and very competitive and long may that continue. The day that this isn’t the case is going down a bad road. Other counties have no relegation or promotion and I just don’t know how club players actually be bothered to buy into that. Our leagues finish very strong, especially when teams go out of the Championship.

“Last year there were some memorable matches. The league final between Trillick and Killyclogher last year could have gone either way, Trillick came out winners and they’ll be back to retain their title against all the other teams who he’ll be pushing hard. As a Dromore man, the league title has always stood to us in terms of winning Championships.

“Trillick finished the league last year very strongly and had a full-strength team out in that match.”

Most of the clubs have now been training for a number of months. Some have enjoyed success and progress in the Ulster League competitions, while many others have focused on challenge matches particularly against strong opposition from other counties.

Mr Sludden, who is in his first year as county chairman, says the new system has worked well to date and the starting time of mid-to-late May is there for good reason.

“With the five starred matches for clubs with county players, you don’t want to be starting the leagues too early and then there’s a break,” he said.

“Traditionally, we have had problems of breaks for eight, nine or 10 weeks before Tyrone played. You were trying to start later.

“Another thing about it about trying to give players more of a rest at the end of the season. Players don’t have to be back out training again in the first or second week of January. They know the league is starting on May 19 and teams now come out in February and only training one night a week initially.”

In past pre-season adult competitions took place, but Mr Sludden has now urged clubs to get behind the organisation of the U-20 competition aimed at bridging the gap between Minor and the adult ranks.

“The U-20 competition is one that needs to be played because there are players there to take part,” he added.

“But how we fit it in is the task. There have been more games added at inter-county level and the U-20 competition is one which I think clubs need to focus on.

“Something has to be done with that agegroup because the U-20 competitions are on their knees in Tyrone and everywhere, even at national level.

“The CCC have put more games in this year and it’s about getting the eligible lads up and running. Many of those who played U-20 in the past year and are moving into their club reserve teams.”