By Shaun Casey

THE last time Cullyhanna reached the semi-finals of the Armagh Senior Championship, boss Stephen Reel was still a player. That was back in 2018, when Crossmaglen ended their hopes of a county final appearance with a 0-19 to 1-11 win.

Since then, the former St Patrick’s defender has been the manager through an up and down period for the club. Struggling at senior level for a few seasons, Cullyhanna dropped down a level in 2022.

That sparked a historic season in 2023 which ended in Croke Park as they climbed the steps of the Hogan Stand to be crowned All-Ireland Intermediate champions. That same team now have a first-ever Senior Championship title in their sights.

Once again, it’s their noisy neighbours Crossmaglen who stand between them and a third-ever championship final. The two sides also battled it out in last year’s quarter-final, with the Rangers emerging victorious with just one point the difference between the sides in the end.

“I was playing the last time we were in a semi-final,” Reel recalled. “From then on, there was a bit of transition and boys went travelling and boys retired, all the boys of my era, and there was a big rebuild.

“The intermediate was very good to us in that respect and teams at intermediate level should value it with a lot of weight because it’s great for young lads to win something and then they can build on it.

“The boys have kicked on well but we’re only in the semi-final, we haven’t won anything yet. We’re glad to be here and no matter who we could have gotten in the semi-final, there are no easy draws at this stage.”

Cullyhanna needed extra-time to seal their spot in the final four as they rallied past St Peter’s in a game where they were second best for long periods. They showed character and resilience, which have been the hallmarks of their campaign so far.

Cullyhanna have had to come from behind to win all four of their championship games to date. They defeated Madden having trailed late on while Mullaghbawn, Pearse Óg and St Peter’s were all ahead at half time in their clashes.

“We knew it was going to be a difficult game, a dangerous game, but we also knew that if we kept calm, kept our composure and trusted our structure and our setup and trusted the players on the pitch then we would get over the line,” Reel said of their dramatic quarter-final win over the Whites.

“That turned out to be the case and that’s a good trait to have but you’d like it to be a wee bit easier, and we can make it a wee bit easier for ourselves, so we’ll have to take our learnings from it and reset and go again.

“We’re delighted to get the job done and that’s what it’s all about. It’s never about playing pretty football; it’s just about getting into the semi-final and we’re happy to have that job done.”