Drumragh boss Cleary views Errigal as a ‘serious outfit’

JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP QUARTER-FINAL

DRUMRAGH manager Shane Cleary has warned that his side are facing a ‘serious outfit’ in the form of Errigal Ciaran Thirds in the quarter-finals of the Junior Championship this Sunday in Donaghmore.

While the common consensus among neutrals is that the path has opened up nicely for the Sarsfields to progress into the last four, Cleary doesn’t see it as quite so straightforward having kept a close eye on their upcoming opposition twice now over the last week.

“ Errigal are a serious outfit and we will have to prepare well for them. They finished off the first game with Derrytresk well, playing against the wind to get the draw. They could easily have won it the first day as they had a right few wides.

“ We played Derrytresk in the McGarrity Cup at the start of the year and they gave us a right beating so they are a decent side. They won 3B at a canter so to beat them says a lot.”

Drumragh accounted for Glenelly 2-14 to 1-10 in the first round a fortnight ago at Loughmacrory.

The men from the ‘Plum’ led at one stage in the first half by five points but the experience of the likes of Gareth Haughey and Niall McCarney ensured that Drumragh maintained their composure. Eventually a McCarney penalty goal allied to another major late on from Daniel O’Neill copper fastened their come from behind triumph.

Shane Cleary was fairly satisfied with the nature of the display, even though there were elements of their game that he was clearly keen to brush up upon.

“We got off to a nervy start and Glenelly cleaned us out around the middle. They are big physical men and we found it hard to get hands on the ball. But I felt once we did we managed to get a grip on the game and attacked fairly well.

“We were pleased with that but going ahead we know we need to get our hands on the ball more regularly, win a few breaks and try to implement our attack. We definitely have a lot to work on.

“We took our scores well and got the penalty at the right time too. That was a big score to convert that. Overall we finished the game out well.”