Maguire would love to atone for ’23 heartbreak

JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP FIRST ROUND

BANISHING the painful memories from that still vivid extra time loss in the 2023 Junior Championship Final to Fintona provides Drumragh with added motivation heading into this year’s campaign, attacker Ronan Maguire insists.

The Sarsfields are operating back down in the third tier this season, after a one year hiatus in the Intermediate ranks (having gained promotion via the league playoffs), and they are set to begin their assault on the Pat Darcy Cup this Sunday afternoon against Glenelly.

The side’s last appearance in the competition of course was in that heartbreaking one point reversal to Fintona at Healy Park in the ’23 showdown, and while refusing to look too far beyond the St Joseph’s this weekend, Maguire admits they would love to atone for that final setback.

“In 2023 we had a good run and we probably still think we should have got over the line that day.

“It’s still fresh enough in our minds to try and go one step further and try and get that monkey off our backs.

“We would definitely love to go that one step further. We just fell short after extra-time but hopefully this year we can go one better and lift the cup.”

The Sarsfields are managed this season by club stalwart Shane Cleary and ended up in a fairly respectable fourth spot come the finish up in Division 3A, just two places ahead of Glenelly. Reflecting on those two league meetings with them, Ronan said there was little to separate the sides.

“We have played them twice this year. We beat them once, it was a tight game, and then we drew with them in Drumragh.

“They will be well set up and have a good forward line as well who could cause us damage but hopefully we will get our match ups right. We need to be well prepared.

“I suppose with a few boys with injuries and others away results were up and down a bit.

“In the last three games we gathered a wee bit of momentum so we will hopefully take that into the Championship, starting out against Glenelly.”

Drumragh are many peoples’ dark horses heading into the Junior Championship but Maguire cautions that it would be a hazardous occupation to cast their eye down too far ahead.

“We are definitely not looking beyond Glenelly. That is all we are focused on at the moment. Obviously when you look at how the league finished Cookstown and Clogher are seen as the top two but we can’t afford to look at the wider picture.

“ It’s just about Glenelly and if we beat them we can concentrate on who we might get further down the line.”