Stalwart Packie pleased with Killeeshil performances to date

RECENT painful history has taught experienced Killeeshil campaigner Packie McMullan to take the favourites tag with a pinch of salt.

The St Mary’s have been many people’s pick to win the Junior title from the off and they more than lived up to those lofty expectations in clinically dispatching with league champions Drumquin last time out.

Second half goals from Luke Donnelly and sub Jason Doyle helped Killeeshil to comfortably cross the winning line on a 2-12 to 1-8 scoreline, a late consolation goal by the Wolfe Tones closing the gap a little before the close.

Packie McMullan stamped his class and experience on proceedings throughout but afterwards he leapt to the defence of their opponents, stating that a bid for a League and Championship double is always a huge ask.

“ Drumquin already had their league title. We faced that situation in 2011 where we had already won the league and we played Derrytresk in the Championship Final and the bite just wasn’t really there. You don’t realise that it’s not there until it is too late so that Drumquin game was probably easier than we anticipated but Strabane will head out all guns blazing no doubt.”

Most neutral observers will be expecting a repeat showing now when Killeeshil come up against the Sigersons in Friday night’s semi-final at O’Neills Healy Park, but McMullan contends that the St Mary’s have come a cropper before when the pressure was on to deliver.

“ There was a few years we were in Junior and we thought we were strong but we were dumped out in the first round. I remember Drumragh done it a while back at Garvaghey when people were talking about us getting to the final. We were miles off it then so we definitely won’t be underestimating Strabane.”

Killeeshil made the most of the strong wind at their backs at Plunkett Park last time out to build up a significant cushion by half-time, and Packie was always confident from there on in that they had the gameplan and discipline to see the job through.

“ We had talked at the start would we take the wind or would we not in the first half. When we got it to go 8-0 up at half-time the game was mostly about managing from there on in. We knew if we could get another three or four points it would make it a real task for them to comeback. So all the work was done in the first half.

“ We just stayed patient. I think after fifteen minutes it was only 3-0 but we kept calm and managed to pick off more as the half moved on. We knew that we don’t generally concede too many goals and it would be a struggle for them to get 10 or 11 points.

“ We were comfortable in the second half because they had to push up and we were able to pick them off and get a couple of nice scores. Luke’s goal killed it as a contest.”

Referring to Strabane’s quarter-final triumph the previous day, McMullan stated that it shouldn’t be forgotten that the Sigersons themselves were operating at a higher level just twelve months ago.

“ Fair play to Strabane, I didn’t think there would be much in their game with Tattyreagh but they came out on the right side of it. Like ourselves they are only just down from Intermediate so there won’t be anything handed to us there.

“ We beat them this year in the league and have had the advantage in a few meetings over the years though we drew in Division Two up in Strabane last year. There hasn’t been a great deal in many of the games so it’s going to be another tough one.”