Carrickmacross eye up decider spot

By Shaun Casey

AT the start of the season, when Andy Callan returned to the fold, getting back to senior football in the Farney County was top of the Carrickmacross priority list, but now, they stand a very real chance of reaching the Ulster IFC final.

Callan’s charges take on Glenullin of Derry this Sunday afternoon in Healy Park, Omagh and for one of those teams, the final whistle will mark a piece of history. Neither club has ever competed in an Ulster decider.

This is new territory for the Carrickmacross crew and with the Monaghan Championship title wrapped up, they can now enjoy their provincial run and aim to grasp the opportunity.

“At the start of the year, the main goal was to get back to senior football because Carrick have been in intermediate now for three years and we were never in it that long,” Callan said.

“But now, when you are here, it is a great opportunity. I suppose you could look at it as bonus territory but there’s two other ways of looking at it as well – it’s a great opportunity for the team to get to an Ulster final but more so for the club.

“For the club itself to reach an Ulster final, it would give all the young lads in the club something to look forward to and something to aspire to.”

Carrickmacross proved much too strong for the Donegal representatives Naomh Columba in the Ulster quarter-final, cruising to a 1-22 to 0-9 win, with Donnach Swinburne nailing the only goal of the game.

Monaghan star Stephen O’Hanlon, the main man in the Carrickmacross attack, chipped in with 0-6 on the day while Aaron Lynch nailed 0-8, with all of his scores coming from frees.

The scoring rate of the Monaghan champions may catch the eye, but the solidarity of their defence has been crucial so far, and it’ll be pushed to the pin of its collar this weekend.

Carrickmacross haven’t conceded a goal in their last three outings, the championship final, league final and Ulster opener, but they face a team that has raised six green flags in their two most recent appearances.

Youngster Conrad Mullan was superb against Sarsfields the last day out and walked away with a personal haul of 1-7 (1-6 from play) while Ryan McNicholl (2) and Cathal Hasson also raised green flags in their emphatic 4-16 to 2-8 triumph.

“Glenullin have run up two massive tallies in their two Ulster games, so we know that we have a huge task ahead of us on Sunday,” Callan added.

“They are very experienced in Ulster as well and have won three of the last four Derry Intermediate titles.We understand that they are goal-hungry and that’s something that we’re going to have to try and negate a wee bit.”

Going by their quarter-final showings of both teams, Sunday’s showdown could turn into a real shootout, with history on the line for whoever makes it through.