Edendork now have eyes on Ulster opener

By Michael McMullan

AFTER their fairytale end and winning their first ever Tyrone senior title, Edendork see Ulster as a huge opportunity.

Manager Brian McGuckin also highlighted the input of Conleith Gilligan as they prepare for Saturday’s live televised preliminary round clash with Clonduff in Newry.

The Tyrone champions had their recovery session on Monday night before getting back to training on Tuesday with the Down champions now in their sights.

There is a novel feel to the clash. Clonduff are in Ulster for the first time since 2000 with Edendork making their debut. The prize for the winners is a quarter-final with first-time Antrim champions St Brigid’s.

“It’s been crazy and it was a fairy tale end as well,” McGuckin told Gaelic Life at Tuesday’s Ulster launch in Cookstown.

“Obviously, it was our first ever final, but to win it in the way in which we did, it is just a thing of dreams and we’re all just at such a high.”

Four days later, McGuckin was still struggling to fully to come to terms with the magnitude of their historic breakthrough but framed what it meant to the group.

“I’m just delighted for the players who have put in such a massive effort,” he said. “I’m delighted for the entire community who are experiencing it.

“We’re a very, very small club. we’re sandwiched between Dungannon and Coalisland who have won championships in recent years.

“We have been looking over the fence and we have seen what getting to the pinnacle means to clubs and to local people. Then, for us to experience it ourselves, is just magic.”

The well-documented relegation battle Edendork had found themselves in only amplifies their story. Had Niall Morgan’s late kick that won the game tailed wide, they’d have been facing Moortown in a play-off with their Division One status on the line.

Winning the championship saved them while also propelling their season into the best in the club’s history, all with one swing of Morgan’s boot.

“That’s the Tyrone Championship for you,” McGuckin said with a smile. “You don’t have your county players for a long period of the league so you can find yourself in a very uncompromising position.

“I’m just thankful that everything has worked out for us and we’re in the position that we’re in now.”

That position is a crack at a side of the championship that has all three clubs vying for a semi-final spot who don’t have any players with any Ulster experience.

Recovery

“We were back out on Monday night, we were getting the boys rehydrated, getting them fed and starting the recovery process,” McGuckin said.

“We’re out training tonight (Tuesday) in preparation for Saturday. We see it as a massive opportunity for us and it was spoken about directly after the game (Tyrone final replay).

“We said we will celebrate, but by God, we’re going to give it one hell of a go. We identified Monday as the cut-off point and the boys are all in a process now of getting their bodies right.”

Much of the work has been done but McGuckin, Conleith Gilligan and Malachy McGlinchey have been pouring themselves over footage of Clonduff. Gilligan has a better handle on them than most after his time in Kilcoo, coaching under Mickey Moran.

“We’re very aware of their strengths and it’s obviously an uphill challenge for us but we feel that we can make a good account of ourselves,” McGuckin concluded.

“We have ‘Deets’ (Gilligan) there and his value is very important. He has a good insight into the Down football and obviously knows Clonduff very well, so his input has been valuable.”