Dromore U16’s will this weekend be looking to make history for their club when they compete in the semi-final of the Paul McGirr Ulster U16 Club Champions Tournament against Antrim champions O’Donovan Rossa.
It has already been a memorable season for the Dromore boys with two victories already to their name in the tournament over strong Enniskillen Gaels and St. Eunan’s Letterkenny teams, but a victory this Sunday would mean a first ever Ulster Final appearance for the club.
However, the Falls Road boys will prove a major obstacle to overcome after they emphatically accounted for Cavan champions Southern Gaels on a 4-09 to 1-03 margin last Saturday, out-scoring their opponents 2-7 to 0-1 in the second half. Rossa have a very strong backbone with captain Michael McGreevey at full back and the tenacious Michael McIvor at centre half, both players playing a major role in keeping Southern Gaels to just four scores over the hour. In midfield Eoghan McMenamin is a dominant figure and with forwards of the calibre of Dominic McEnhill and Michael Close the Dromore rearguard will have to be on toes at all times. Accordingly to Rossa manager Dominic McEnhill they are expecting things a bit tougher this week than last.
“We believe this is step up in level, with no disrespect to last weekend’s opposition who provided a tough task for the our boys. It’s the semi-final against the host club who progressed from a highly competitive Tyrone championship and who have two tough games under their belt in this competition. Our boys are eagerly awaiting this game and hope that the expected large crowd will see and enjoy a high quality game of football played in the right spirit and a fitting tribute to the memory of Paul McGirr”.
Dromore though will be going into the game in confident fashion and according to joint manager Joe Rafferty they are not going along to make up the numbers.
“Having struggled to get out of Tyrone this year there was no doubt our boys were under-performing as we knew they were capable of much more. However with the pressure off after winning the county title, it has been great to see them throw off the shackles and their performances so far in the Paul McGirr have been of the highest order, there is much more cohesion in their play and every player has been upping their game with each hurdle they have met. Against St. Eunan’s our defence was superb and it was the lesser known players on the team like Jamie Louis Law, Mark McGrade, Ruairi Teague, Cathal Colton, Padraig Quinn, John MacRory, Ruairi Gallagher and Nathan McCarron who really impressed. The
workrate, running off the ball and tenacity in the tackle were all first class. We have a lot of scoring options in the team and against St. Eunan’s we had eight different players on the scoresheet, this has been a feature of our play all year. Rossa will be another step up in class but I don’t think the challenge will phase the boys and hopefully come Sunday evening we will be looking forward to a first ever Ulster final for Dromore which would be a massive occasion for the club”.
Caolan Slevin has been a constant driving force in the Dromore defence and the Gardrum Park boys will certainly look to his leadership on Sunday afternoon. The midfield duo of Cahir Goodwin and Caolan McCarron have been dominant in their games so far while up front the pace of Odhran Rafferty and Pearse McNabb will prove a handful for the Rossa defence. However it could be the battle between the prolific Dromore captain Oran Sludden and McGreevey which could decide the outcome of the game. Both teams play an attacking style of football so weather permitting a high scoring affair is in store and no doubt the home team will have a huge Dromore and Tyrone backing cheering them on. The game takes place at 2:00 on Sunday afternoon in Gardrum Park. The first semi-final takes place on
Saturday afternoon at 2:00 between Armagh champions Clann Eireann and Derry’s Magherafelt and this looks set to be an enticing affair with both teams having been highly impressive in their quarter finals. As usual all proceeds from the tournament go the ‘The Spirit Of Paul McGirr Trust’ for its continuing work for the poor in Lusaka, Gambia.
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