‘We never give up’ stresses Na Fianna defender Hampsey

WHEN Coalisland defender Eoghan Hampsey says the team have a ‘never-say-die’ attitude, it’s fair to say he isn’t pulling it from thin air.

Na Fianna staged yet another miraculous comeback in last Sunday’s Senior Championship semi-final clash against Errigal Ciaran.

The odds were stacked against them when they trailed by 0-11 to 0-6 down the home straight, but they manufactured three goals in the space of six minutes against their shell-shocked opponents.

That’s without mentioning the fact they finished the game with 13 men, as well as Cormac O’Hagan’s stunning free-kick deep into injury time which proved the winning of the contest.

Coalisland have had to come from behind in all three of their championship encounters to date, so it’s fair to say they’ve earned their crack at Dromore in Sunday week’s championship showdown at O’Neill’s Healy Park.

Hampsey said: “We’re shown it time and time again that we’re a never-say-die team. I said it three years ago when we won the championship and we’re back in the final again.

“It’s never over until it’s over. We were five points down but we dug deep and we have each other’s backs, every man is as good as the next so even when we were down in numbers we didn’t lose faith.”

Even though Coalisland have a mountain of experience, few outside the camp would have expected them to reach the final for the third time in six years.

They’ll not take Dromore for granted in the final, but nor will they fear Colly McCullagh’s side, who have also plotted a treacherous path to the decider.

“They’re a very good dogged with some very good forwards – they’re strong all over the field really so they’re definitely not a team that we can take for granted.

“It’s going to be another dogfight, they’ll be very hard to beat but we’re looking forward to it,” said the 25 year old.

Hampsey also credit the management team, led by Brian McGuckin, who have spearheaded their run to the final with countless hours of preparation behind the scenes.

“They’re unbelievable lads who put in so much work all the time. On our days off they’re working on videos and writing to us personally. A massive amount of work goes into it.”

Coalisland has a number of veteran players still giving their all to the cause. Their coolness under pressure has played a major part in their comeback victories over Edendork, Carrickmore and Errigal Ciaran.

“The likes of Niall Kerr, Plunkett Kane, Mackers (Stephen McNally) have been there and done it. They put in a shift year-in, year-out no matter how old they are. They keep on going and have been such great players for the club.”