Errigal making good use of starred fixtures

SEVEN points from six games without a large contingent of the panel which reached the All-Ireland Club Final in January is the fairly satisfactory record that Errigal Ciaran are reflecting upon as their Division One campaign nears its halfway point.

The county champions recorded a comfortable home victory over old rivals Carrickmore on Friday night. But as well as the win, it was also the chance to give players first-team game-time which is also an important factor as the season progresses.

Like many teams with players on the county seniors, Errigal are using these starred games to build their panel and that process is continuing apace, according to their joint manager Stephen Quinn.

“The elements definitely played a big part in our win and the boys worked well in getting the two pointers which were massive scores for us,” he said.

“We’re happy with the way things went. The starred games are giving us the chance to give panellists some experience and it has been good in that regard because we were fairly well-stretched due to absentees and injuries.

“It’s good to get lads regular football and this gives them opportunities which they might not get later in the year. A lot of them are putting their hands up.”

Games between Carrickmore and Errigal have always had an edge, and now many new players are carrying on the traditional intensity of the rivalry. But it’s still early in 2025, and both teams will have much more to think about as the league season reaches its climax ahead of the championship.

“We had a good game but then you play anyone in the Tyrone Senior League anywhere in the county and they are all good games,” added Stephen Quinn.

“There’s never a handy two points. We’ve found that out regularly this year. The team has had a couple of good wins and a couple of defeats and you just have to keep working because there are no easy games in Division One.

“Hopefully we can get a good few players back over the next couple of weeks. It’s a case now of waiting on Tyrone, but we lost Darragh McGinley here which was disappointing because he has been playing well and I think he could be out for a while.