Pearses proud of efforts despite Ulster exit

FINTONA’s fruitful Junior Championship campaign was brought to a close by Blackhill at Kingspan Breffni Park on Saturday but the Pearses management and the camp in general were remaining upbeat afterwards.

Blackhill emerged winners of the Ulster semi-final on a 2-10 to 0-7 scoreline and Fintona couldn’t quite reproduce the type of football that earlier carried them to championship success in Tyrone plus two additional wins in the Ulster series.

They still tried hard against an experienced Blackhill side here, though, that had signalled their intentions with a clear-cut Ulster quarter-final victory.

It’s nevertheless been a grand season for the Pearses right across the club with youth success going hand-in-hand with the adult team’s exploits. There is enough to be positive about then despite Saturday’s reversal, a point John O’Neill from the management team was keen to emphasise.

“We feel disappointed as we wanted to win and reach the Ulster final. You must give credit to Blackhill, though, who played very well but our lads can gain good experience from a game like this,” he said.

“The players are always keen to learn and bounce back from a match not going their way, as they did in the league after a narrow defeat to Cookstown. They went on to finish the league strongly and then came the championship win that will live long in the memory.

“This has been a landmark year for the club and it’s great to give the Fintona supporters success to cheer.

“The team now moves onto intermediate football next season and we can look ahead to the challenges that will present but 2023 has certainly been brilliant.”

It’s been a hectic on-field schedule for Fintona from mid-May when the league programme began but the rewards of a championship trophy success plus promotion have made it all more than worthwhile.

The Pearses can now look forward to reading through the 2024 fixture list and preparing for the different teams they will be taking on then.