Strabane boss O’Neill expects tough Brack battle

JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP QUARTER-FINAL

STRABANE manager Richard O’Neill believes that if his side carry the same mentality into Saturday’s Junior Championship quarter-final against Brackaville that they displayed in accounting for Castlederg in the previous round then he has full confidence they can progress.

For the second match running the Sigersons will be raging hot favourites to prevail but that particular mantle rested easily on their shoulders a fortnight ago at breezy Greencastle. They easily dispatched with St Eugene’s in the derby 2-17 to 1-9, Kelvin Nelson and inspirational captain Oran McGrath their goalscorers.

The last eight now pitches Strabane in against Division 3B opposition in the shape of Brackaville at Killyclogher this weekend, albeit they will be a side buoyed by fine Championship victories already over Tattyreagh and Brocagh.

While aware of the capabilities of the opposition, Richard O’Neill’s primary focus this week has been getting his own charges mentally prepared for the task at hand.

“ At training I said to the lads if our big players perform we are always going to be in with a shout.

“ As long as our boys don’t have the attitude that these boys are down below us in 3B then we should be okay. We hammered that point home at training after the league before we played Castlederg and it’s been the same for the Brackaville game too.”

While the Derg matched the Sigersons score by score for the majority of the first half O’Neill was confident that they could eventually pull clear.

“ The wind was a big factor. We went in at half-time having played into it two points up and though we had a man sent off I knew if we played to our potential in the second half we should still beat Castlederg and we did.”

Dale McSorley and Shea Fee have been the attackers doing the damage for Brackaville during their Championship run to date and Richard is aware that their threat will have to be stymied by Strabane.

“ I remember last year we played them up there. They have two big men in at full-forward who were a handful and we drew with them. We will have to do our homework on them.”

The big hitters in the reckoning for Junior Championship honours appear to have been kept apart in the quarter-final draw, but O’Neill cautions that anything can unfold in knock-out football.

“ On league form you could suggest the fancied teams have been kept apart but who knows in the Championship.

“ We have had a lot of injuries this year so we have had to draft in a lot of young boys but they have really stood up to be fair. They have got a taste of playing senior football. We are fair to them and if they impress they stay on the team.”