By 
INTERMEDIATE CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL
NOBODY can argue that Eglish won’t deserve to get their hands on the Paddy Cullen Cup for only the third time in their history if they account for Clonoe in Sunday’s Intermediate Championship Final at Dungannon.
The ‘men in black’ have already dispatched three of the prime contenders for the trophy enroute to the weekend decider, namely Coalisland, Owen Roes and Moy, but the daddy of them all now awaits in the form of the double chasing Rahillys.
Clogher native Aidan McElroy is in his first year at the management helm, alongside former Fermanagh player Colm Bradley, and together they have overseen the side’s immediate return to the top flight.
A second place finish in Division Two has proved sufficient to gain promotion, given that champions Clonoe have also progressed to the County Final. However McElroy insists that despite that safety net in place, the prize this weekend is still massive, as they look to add to those previous IFC title triumphs in 1992 and 1997.
“ I don’t think we have any inhibitions in our play. You see the way we play, we are a very attack minded team. We defend hard when the occasions demand but we also attack with real intent.
“ Yes the chief objective at the start of the year was to get Eglish back up to senior football. We have done that now but that doesn’t mean we won’t be going all out to win a county title next Sunday.
“ Clonoe have already won the League but they’d admit themselves that the big one is the Championship.”
From the outset of the Championship and that first round classic with the Fianna (when Ethan Jordan slotted over seventeen points) Eglish have had to hit top gear throughout to survive given the calibre of opposition they have encountered. McElroy is delighted with the group for meeting every challenge so far placed in their path.
“ We spoke about that as a group. The teams that are around the top four or five places in the table- bar Owen Roes- have all been senior sides in recent years, and we have had to come through a couple of them now in the Championship, as well as Owen Roes who are a well established top Intermediate side too at this stage.
“ We have taken care of some really good teams so we definitely deserve to be in the final but that still guarantees you nothing.
“ We have had to do it the hard way and it has been a tough route but we have one more step to climb now and that is the team which finished ahead of us in the league. Clonoe deservedly beat us that night we played them in the league (2-21 to 0-13). They taught us a lesson in the first half.”
The odds on Eglish avenging that loss are shortened of course by the heartening news of Conor McKenna’s return to the fold for the Moy match. The 2021 Tyrone All-Ireland winning attacker recently finished his AFL season with the Brisbane Lions in Australia. He came off the bench in the second half at O’Neill Park and scored a point in the course of their 2-19 to 1-14 triumph.
McElroy stated that the fact the McKenna clann cancelled his stag party in glittering Las Vegas to focus on his native club’s Championship challenge spoke volumes for his commitment to Eglish.
“ Conor is a professional athlete based in Australia. He has come home and straight away was involved in our group. You see what he offers and he was mad keen to get playing.
“ There was no problem in terms of integrating him into the group as he’s an Eglish man through and through. We were delighted to have him on the pitch for twenty minutes or so and he tells me he is enjoying the new rules too which is a plus.
“ There were to go away (Stag) on the Thursday before the semi and moved it again on Friday. But the boys made a decision not to go and that’s credit to them and testament to the group we have.
“ They felt there was only one decision to be made and we are just glad to have them.”
While Clonoe have coasted through to the final in contrast to Eglish, McElroy is bullish about the quality within his own ranks
“ They are a formidable outfit but I’d like to think that we are a formidable outfit too. You seen young Conor Holmes popped up with the last three points of the Moy game from corner back. We have some very flexible players who can play anywhere around the middle eight.
“ We will knuckle down for the final. Moy was a big game as it guaranteed us senior football for next year so there was that bit of extra pressure. I think we are going into the final now in a good enough place.”