Warnock immersed in Greencastle’s run

SEAN Warnock has been in imperious form in the Greencastle engine-room en route to Saturday’s Intermediate Championship semi-final against the Moy, another team with bagfuls of senior experience in their ranks.

Greencastle dropped down from Division One last year and after an inconspicuous enough league campaign they have found their groove in the Championship and are one step away from a place in the final.

St Patrick’s boast a proud tradition in the Tyrone Junior Championship, winning titles in 1936, 1992, 1998 and most prominently of all, 2006, the season in which they embarked on a memorable voyage to All-Ireland honours.

They haven’t fared quite so well in the Intermediate Championship, but experienced midfielder Sean Warnock points out that they’ve played a lot of football in recent years at senior level as an explanatory factor.

“ In a funny sort of way we don’t have that much experience of going on a run in the Championship through the years. We’ve been at senior level quite a lot and this might be only the second time we’ve got through to the semi-finals of the Championship in my time.

“ We didn’t do as well as we’d have liked in the league, we knew near the end that we were out of the running, so we recognised the need to focus on the championship and give it a really good push.”

Greencastle have stacks of seasoned campaigners in their ranks but they also have a healthy sprinkling of talented younger players, some of whom have already accrued a considerable amount of experience in their time at adult level.

Enda McKenna, Ryan Gurmley, Tiarnan Teague and captain Miceal McCann are among those on the younger side of the fence, while you also have the likes of Sean Warnock’s midfield partner Enda Clarke, now in his forties but still exerting a considerable influence in their recent Championship wins over Kildress and Beragh.

Sean also namechecks their experienced forward Cahir McCullagh, who was in scintillating form in front of the posts in a hard-earned quarter-final victory over Beragh a fortnight ago.

“I suppose some people perceive us as an older team but we’ve had a big emphasis on getting younger players in and we understand the importance of setting a good example to them.

“ And it’s good that we have a lot of experience in the team. You saw Cahir against Beragh, he was brilliant. He gets a lot of attention and to be fair there were other men who chipped in, Chrissy Gillen, the likes of Ryan Gumley and Enda McKenna coming up from defence, it’s a team effort.”

Greencastle will need to counter the threats of Moy marksman Michael Conroy and Cavanagh siblings Sean and Colm if they’re to book their spot in the final against Derrylaughan or Moortown. They’ll take confidence from a spirited performance against Beragh in the last eight.

Warnock said: “Beragh beat us in the league earlier in the year. They’re an up and coming side, they were in with a shout of promotion last year and have a good crop of young players so we knew they were going to be there or thereabouts. It was just about getting over the line and that’s what championship is about.”