By Barry O’Donnell

A NEW generation of players are primed to carry Carrickmore’s quest for top honours far into the current decade, with their young captain Rory Donnelly among those at the vanguard of this trophy hunt.

Donnelly formed a crucial part of a tenacious and well-drilled Carmen backline which frustrated a normally prolific Errigal Ciaran attack to clinch the Senior League title last Saturday in Dunmoyle.

The hard-fought 0-8 to 0-6 triumph ensured that the St Colmcille’s took hold of the Brendan Dolan Memorial Trophy for the first time since 2013, and tenth in total, but also sent out
an emphatic statement that Carrickmore very definitely mean business again.

The sight of veteran campaigners Mark Donnelly, Barry Daly, Martin Penrose and Conor Gormley entering the fray as substitutes in the second half underlined the value of having some experience to call upon, but according to Rory Donnelly it is now time for the young pups to step up and deliver.

“ Boys like that have been great servants for the club and won everything. I suppose it’s up to the younger fellas to take ownership now moving forward. This was a great victory for us and provides something to build upon.

“ It was a huge honour at the start of the year when I was made captain. There is plenty of leaders throughout the field and I am just the one collecting the trophy at the end of the day.”

Carrickmore demonstrated no lack of mental fortitude or character to withstand a ferocious Errigal onslaught in the second half at foggy Dunmoyle, having led 0-5 to 0-1 at the interval. Donnelly however expected no less from their old rivals, who were strangely out of sorts in the first period.

“We knew it was going to be a fierce battle and that it was going to take everything.

“Coming to the end of the second half it could have been any team’s game but we were just lucky to get over the line in the end.

“In the first half we played against the wind and we really dug deep. We had plenty of fresh legs and runners. We took all our opportunities.

“I suppose in the second half we didn’t perform as well. It was just a matter of getting over the line in the end and we were just happy to do so.”

While both attacks struggled at times in a grimly fought defensive struggle, it was another of Carrickmore’s exciting young stars, Daniel Fullerton, who lit up the tie with two brilliant points in the closing stages which helped his side to seal the deal. Donnelly said that witnessing such top notch marksmanship came as no surprise.

“Daniel has carried an injury all season but he just showed his class there towards the end and showed what a player he can be for the future.”

Clinching the League crown provided an encouraging end of season fillip for Carmen whose Championship hopes were dashed at the quarter-final stages when they lost out by a point to Coalisland. Donnelly hopes it won’t be too long before the O’Neill Cup takes up residence in Termonmaguirc Parish again.

“We believed we were good enough to win the Championship this year Unfortunately we fell short but this should give us the confidence to push on and maybe in a few years get that Championship that we are craving for.

“That (Coalisland) was a tough defeat to take but it’s important you take positives from any setback and learn for the future, if you are in that situation again.

“The club is in a good spot and the mens and ladies have both had great seasons.”

Meanwhile Carrickmore joint manager Noel Hurson also hailed the contribution of skipper Rory Donnelly to the team fold this season, and said that underneath his youthful demeanour lay a steely competitor.

“Communication between our half-back line and our full back line was very good against Errigal. I give credit to our captain who was in the full-back line.

“Rory is a great leader for us. He gets criticised a few times because he is young but Rory Donnelly is a great footballer.

“He was a deserving winner. He is a great lad and he gives you everything that he has, he is a very intelligent player and that is what is going to take for us in the years to come.”