Killyclogher’s battling qualities please boss Bradley

KILLYCLOGHER manager Eoin Bradley hopes that the team’s trajectory in terms of performance levels continues to rise as they face into a Senior Championship semi-final showdown with Errigal Ciaran this weekend.

St Mary’s have already now twice played a ‘get out of jail card’ to preserve their Paddy O’Neill Cup aspirations, with late goals coming to their rescue in earlier matches.

However there was nothing fortunate about their 0-8 to 0-6 quarter-final victory over record 15 times champions Carrickmore at O’Neill’s Healy Park on Thursday evening, five points from Mark Bradley helping them to edge home in a scrappy affair.

The Ballinamullan boys were much the better side across the hour, and Eoin Bradley was pleased with the resolve and composure shown by his charges to see the job through.

“ It was always going to be a battle of attrition. Carrickmore got a lot of joy in the second half last week when they sat back and defended.

“We knew they were going to come out this week and drop off again and do that.

“It was just about us not giving the ball away and keeping possession.

“ We had a lot of possession and Carrickmore sat in. They were happy enough to give us the ball but it was about us making sure to control it. You don’t want to give it away cheaply.

“ In the last ten minutes of the first half we took the foot off a bit and they got three points before the break.

“ I asked the boys for a response going into the second half and we got the reaction we were looking for.”

With free flowiing football at a premium, it was a contest in which the experience and class of seasoned operators was going to have a major bearing. Bradley felt in that regard Killyclogher had the men who stood up to the challenge.

“ Conall and Tiarnan McCann are brilliant footballers. On their day I don’t think anyone can match them.

“ They were brilliant there for us, but everyone knuckled down and played a part. It was all about keeping the scoreboard ticking over. The lads dug in and did brilliantly.”

Killyclogher have already endured a gruelling Championship journey but the manager admits that they are only halfway to where they want to be.

“ There has been a lot of football played in a short space of time.

“It’s all been crammed into two months, the back end of the league and straight into the Championship. But the boys love football and being involved still at this time of year.

“Knowing myself from playing with the cluib Killyclogher will always show those guts and character. We have shown that character in our three games so far. Yes Omagh wasn’t our greatest performance and the boys were very disappointed with it but we got through.

“ We wanted to come out the last day against Carrickmore and play much beter. We did that for probably around forty minutes and tonight was again a much better all round performance.

“ Hopefully we can pick it up even further for the semi-final now.”