Clann’s Conwell eyes an upset against Killeeshil

EXPERIENCED Clann na nGael captain Paul Conwell admits that they are being pitched in with one of Junior football’s form teams in the opening round of the Championship this Saturday evening.

The Clann men will be hoping to upset the odds when they lock horns with high-flying Killeeshil in Fintona, and no doubt their manager Kevin McCrystal will have his charges primed to pull off the shock.

St Mary’s came on strong in the run-in to the end of the league, but had left themselves with too much to do in terms of catching Drumquin.

Killeeshil eventually finished in third position and have a promotion playoff to fall back upon if need be, but they will harbour lofty ambitions of a concerted push for Championship glory, and would expect to get the better of Clann na nGael who won just five of their sixteen league outings.

A veteran of many a Championship journey with the Clann, Paul Conwell appreciates that they have drawn one of the fancied riders in the first round

“All the chat is about Killeeshil, Aghaloo and Drumquin. We are going in as massive underdogs but the way Kevin (McCrystal) has set us up all year you just take every game as it comes. I know it is the Championship but we will be treating that game the same.

“ We played them down in Dunamanagh half way through the season and we held our own. That’s the case against most of the top teams in the Division we have held our own but we have never just got over the line in those games. As we all know Championship football is all on the day.”

While keen to avoid trotting out excuses for his side’s inconsistent showings in Division Three, Conwell feels that struggling to field their strongest line-up at times has proven a hindrance.

“ It’s probably been frustrating. I don’t like blaming injuries or using excuses like that but we have been down two to three men every game and haven’t been able to field our strongest team with injuries.

“In saying that the league probably doesn’t lie and on form in a lot of games we haven’t been able to get over the line.”

And Paul added that it was pointless lamenting their luck in the draw, explaining that any side worth their salt should relish whatever challenges lies in store.

“ The draw wasn’t too kind but it’s like anything if you are going to win the Championship you have to beat the better teams at some stage.

“Killeeshil have been going well and will want to get promoted again. They were the form team towards the backend of the league so it is what it is. We will just have to deal with it when the day comes.”

While few will fancy Clann na nGael to prevail this weekend, Conwell stated that any sort of victory in the Championship was long overdue.

“ The average age of our squad is 24 so it’s fairly young. There is more young fellas than older fellas in the team.

“ We are due a run. I actually don’t remember the last time we won in the first round of the Championship. So that’s the biggest aim to try and get a victory in our first game.”