Boyle bullish about Loughmacrory’s future

WHILE quick to praise the qualities of their upcoming Championship quarter-final opponents, Loughmacrory manager Martin Boyle stresses that it’s also important that his side back themselves.

One gets the sense that the Derry man, in his first year at the management helm at St Teresa’s, is keen to dispel the notion that reaching the quarter-finals of the O’Neill Cup race is an achievement in itself for the lough boys.

A quick glimpse at their wonderful facilities at Pairc an Locha hints at an ambitious club and the intention now is to mirror those off-field developments with concrete steps forward on it.

Their vibrant 2-15 to 2-7 first round success against league semi-finalists Galbally may have raised the odd eyebrow or two- especially the margin of victory- but ahead of this weekend’s last eight meeting with Dungannon, an upbeat Martin Boyle stated he has full confidence in his young charges capabilities.

“ We have enough quality players ourselves and when we play to our highest standard we have shown we belong at this level.

“ To win a Championship match in Tyrone is a big thing for Loughmacrory. I know they have had a few hard luck stories so these boys deserve this and it is just a matter now of kicking on. They are in the quarter-final of the Championship so let’s go for it.”

Precocious young talent such as Eoin Donaghy, Ruairi McCullagh and Eoin McElholm are spearheading Loughmacrory’s quest for glory, though the future career trajectory of the latter is still the subject of much debate after impressing in Aussie Rules trials.

In recent years the side have consolidated their status as a solid Division One outfit, primarily due to a fairly rigid defensive template. These days they appear to be letting their hair down a little, no doubt the emergence of some brilliant youth given them the liberty to do so.

Boyle was delighted with what he observed against Galbally last time out, though he cautioned that there would inevitably be teething problems in their development.

“ We talked about that at half-time. You are never going to have the perfect sixty minutes. There is going to be ups and downs all the way and you are going to experience tough times.

“ We have done a lot of work talking about how we deal with those moments and getting the momentum in games.

“You have to remember that the average age of this team is maybe 22 and a half. So there will be bumps on the road but we feel we are making progress.

“ Once the ball is thrown in every game takes on a life of its own. Some games can be cagey. When the first five minutes was gone (against Galbally) the ball was in the net twice at both ends of the field.

“I suppose that set the narrative for the game and the big pitch at Healy Park lends itself to open expansive football as well.”

Turning his thoughts to the match-up with the Clarkes this Saturday, Boyle stated that Dungannon deserve to be ranked among the front runners for the O’Neill Cup.

“ They are a serious team. Obviously I’m still getting up to speed with all the teams in Tyrone.

“We played Dungannon in the second league game and they were eight points up at half-time Their size and physique was really impressive as was their scoring potential.

“ They are many people’s favourites for the Championship for a reason. But there is no point talking about the opposition. We have to go and back ourselves.”