Moy boss out to upset favourites Errigal

MOY’S league campaign didn’t go to plan and they face the prospect of an upcoming play-off clash against Clonoe, but their manager Kevin Murray would still like to see them raise their game for Saturday’s Senior Championship opener against favourites Errigal Ciaran.

It’s a free hit for the Moy in the sense that little is expected of them at Galbally, but they’ll also want to avoid a bad day of the office after a bruising league campaign which culminated in a place in the unwanted relegation zone.

Errigal Ciaran can call upon some of the best attacking talent in Tyrone, including Darragh and his younger brother Ruairi (albeit Ruairi is an injury concern heading into the match), but Murray says they can’t get too bogged down in trying to prevent Errigal racking up a big scoreline.

Former Antrim player Murray said: “We know they have some of the best forwards in Tyrone and they’re one of the favourites to win the Championship. We’re obviously going to have to try to reduce the threats they have, while playing our own game when we have possession of the ball.

“Every team aims to get that balance between defence and attack. We know that’s the only way it’ll have a chance, and it’ll take a massive effort at both ends of the pitch.”

Two-time All-Star winner Colm Cavanagh missed the tail-end of the Moy’s league campaign through injury, and it’ll be a major blow to the cause if he isn’t able to feature this weekend. It won’t be for a lack of trying, however.

Murray said: “Colm was a big miss in those last couple of league games. We have to be as careful as possible in managing his recovery, we’re taking all the best advice and going through the proper processes. Colm has been trying his level best to get back, and wants to play, so we just have to wait and see.”

The Moy had a relatively disappointing league campaign and face a fight on their hands to maintain their cherished Division One status. Consistency during matches has been a problem, accepts their manager.

“There were games we were competitive in for the first 20 or 30 minutes before faltering in the second-half, perhaps because of a lack of experience. It’s all well and good keeping teams quiet for a spell but to win matches you obviously have to maintain that over the full 60 minutes.

“We didn’t perform on the last day against Derrylaughan when it was in our hands, so that was massively disappointing, but we’ve trained hard all year together and we’re focusing on our championship campaign for now.”

A former Antrim footballer, Murray led Aghagallon to their first ever senior championship final appearance in the county last season.

This is his first foray into Tyrone football and he says a major difference is the quality of forwards.

“From an outside perspective, the big thing is that there are quality forwards in every team who can do damage and that’s been a big learning for us.

“It’s been a challenging season but we’re learning and the club has been very supportive about what we’re trying to do.

“It’s a great club with a lot of history – a lot of good players have come through the Moy and we’re trying to move things forward as best we can.”