By 
ULSTER JUNIOR CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP FIRST ROUND PREVIEW
THE launch of the Ulster Junior Club Championship (2001) came the season after Clogher won the last of their County titles so this Sunday represents a bit of history for the Eire Ogs as they step onto the provincial stage for the first time.
The newly crowned Tyrone champions travel to Owenbeg to tackle Derry side Slaughtmanus in the opening round at the weekend hoping to carry their form from the County Final into this new venture.
Clogher dispatched with Drumragh in impressive fashion a fortnight ago at Healy Park in the Tyrone decider, the likes of Conor Shields, Ciaran Bogue and Marc McConnell producing dynamic individual displays on the evening.
Forward Ryan McCaughey also more than played his part in their success chipping in with two points, his physicality and astute link up play a productive outlet for the side during their successful Championship campaign.
The 27-year old is all too aware of the indelible mark that Tyrone sides have left on the Ulster Club stage at Junior level over the last two decades, especially the likes of Rock (3 wins) and Stewartstown (2 wins).
He would love the Eire Ogs to replicate the glory that other teams in the County have savoured.
“ We celebrated like we should do for a few days after the County Final before getting back to the grind to set a new target.
“ We are away to the Derry Junior champions and they are always quite competitive at this level when they get out of their own county so Slaughtmanus will be no different. We will study them no doubt and see what we can do.
“ But this is a new challenge for us. Clogher don’t play too often in the Ulster Championship so we will be dead keen to give it a go. We all seen what it meant to other Tyrone clubs down the years to go on a run so it would be great if we could do the same.”
Reflecting on the nature of their 1-21 to 0-12 victory over Drumragh in the County Final, McCaughey admitted that it was satisfying to hit their peak performance levels in the biggest game of their season.
“ It’s absolutely massive for the club. We waited eight years to get another crack at the final so to put a performance in like we did means everything.
“ To go back up at the first time of asking was the aim and to win the Championship means everything to the people of Clogher. We were over the moon with the result and performance.
“ We were disappointed with our performance against Clann na nGael (quarter-final). We knew we had to pick it up again for Strabane and then again for the Final and we managed to do that. We knew that there was a really big performance in us so to bring it to the Final was great. There is no better day or stage to peak than that.
“ The second half was as good a half as we have played all year. We were playing into a strong wind but we kept the ball really well and picked off our scores when we needed them. It was just massive for the club to get over the line in the final.”
It had been a quarter of a century since Clogher last landed the Tyrone Junior Championship crown and Ryan admitted it was special to join that previous squad in the club’s history books.
“ We have plenty of time left yet to maybe win more but we know around Clogher what that victory in 2000 meant to them. We heard from them in the build-up to the Drumragh game what it meant and still means in terms of the bond they shared so for us to repeat that is unbelievable. To be part of Clogher history as a Championship winning team, nobody can take that away from us. That’s a great feeling.”
McCaughey was also delighted at how the squad regrouped and refocused after losing out on the Division 3 league title to Cookstown in a final game shoot-out back in the summer.
“ You can tell yourself we will go ahead and be grand but it’s still in the back of your head that the league got away from us in the last game. Don’t get me wrong Cookstown definitely deserved it but after that game in August we knuckled down and said if we train hard for the next two months a Championship win was possible.”