Tyrone Ladies set for Erne test in Championship on Sunday

A TOUGH league campaign that ended in relegation is done, dusted and filed away as far as Tyrone manager Darren McCann and his Tyrone side are concerned ahead of Sunday’s Ulster Ladies Intermediate Championship opener against Fermanagh at Kinawley.

McCann, set for his first Ulster Championship at this level, is entering new territory but will take it in his stride.

“It’s new ground for us all in the management, we will take learnings from the league into the Championship and there were plenty of positives to take out of that campaign,” he said.

“We beat Mayo and pushed other teams hard, it was certainly a learning curve for our new players and everyone.”

Fermanagh go into this game with promotion secured from Division Four despite a league final loss to Antrim.

That loss was put down to their own lack of clinical finishing, however the Championship is a different animal as far as Tyrone manager is concerned.

“Our focus was always on the championship, April 27th was the date we looked toward,  it has been since we started on this journey. For us it’s about getting over this first hurdle although we know it will be a difficult one for us,” continued McCann.

“Of course Fermanagh are an excellent side, the fact they have been together for several years buying into what the manager has brought to the table, they will know the game play, the systems and their roles while they come into the championship as all Ireland winners too.”

Fermanagh were indeed already promoted ahead of the league final on an afternoon at Clones where, by their own admission, they “shot themselves out of the game”. They missed a hatful of chances including goal opportunities after scoring twenty eight in the previous league fixtures.

Erne boss CJ McGourty was also critical of the match referee who issued two yellow cards to Ciara Clarke and the veteran Joanne Doonan as his side tried to fight themselves back into a contest that they had dominated but failed to see out.

The Red Hands have held the Indian sign over Fermanagh in the Ulster Championship with the Erne County still in search of a first win against them although McGourty will be far from worried about that statistic.

“We are promoted and that was key but we would have wanted to finish with the league title,” said McGourty.

“We talked about ruthlessness all year but we weren’t in the league final, we will take our learnings from it, we’ll do the video work and take it from there.”

There’s experience on show with the opposition, plenty too with McCann’s own charges, many who have come through the ranks under Darren’s minor management regime that produced an Ulster title last year.

“Yes experience is important and we have a few players from the 2018 success but that’s done and dusted. This is a new team we have lots of younger players coming through who all have had Division One experience this year. That was important, they are keen to write their own history now.”

McCann has a few injury concerns ahead of the trip to the Erne County but remains hopeful that he will have a full hand to pick from.

“We have had four weeks since the league finished, we have worked hard, some of the girls have put in three or four years work now and the hunger to get back after last year’s loss is there too, they are driven, we have a great bunch of girls, a real mix that have bonded so well.”

Emma Jane Gervin is ruled out for Tyrone after suffering a long term knee injury while the likes of Niamh O’Neill, Tori McElroy and Cara Mc Crossan have all returned to the squad alongside a hatful of minors who have come through the ranks.