By Niall Gartland

VETERAN forward Eoin McCusker was delighted to play a leading role in Dromore’s sensational victory over Dungannon Clarkes a week and-a-half ago – but he was at pains to point out that there’s no medals handed out at this relatively early stage of the championship.

McCusker rolled back the years with a genuinely inspirational cameo appearance, scoring five points against last year’s Tyrone Championship kingpins.

The 36-year-old has been part of many red letter days for Dromore down the years, but there are three more games to play before he can win a fourth championship medal – starting off with a quarter-final clash against Eglish this Sunday afternoon.

Asked where their win over Dungannon ranks in the overall scheme of things, the straight-talking McCusker said: “Where does it rank…it was just a game of football with no medals handed out, so it probably doesn’t rank up there, but as a game to play in, it was outstanding.

“I was delighted to take to the field. Dungannon play an attractive brand of football and that allows opponents to play a similar style. It was one of the best games I’ve played in.”

Time will tell whether Dromore can build on their 2-22 to 4-12 win over Dungannon after extra-time, but they’ll take great heart from the manner of their victory. They trailed 2-3 to 0-1 early doors, but showed character in abundance to drag themselves into the contest, and their many young players will now believe they have what it takes to follow in the footsteps of club legends like McCusker.

“To be honest we knew that Dungannon could take things right to the wire, but we didn’t as we hadn’t really been in the type of games they were involved in last year.

“So it was a big one to get over. We always had the belief that we have good enough footballers, but we had to show that we could click and thankfully we got the scores we needed in extra-time.

“In games gone by we collapsed after going eight points down, like against Trillick a few years ago, but we didn’t against Dungannon thankfully. We dug in, chipped away with a few important scores, and as the game went on I actually think we got better.”

It would be unwise to assume that they’ll ease past quarter-final opponents Eglish in Sunday’s contest. Mattie McGleenan’s side were surprisingly comfortable in their first-round win over Pomeroy, and players like Conor McKenna, Ethan Jordan and Michael McGleenan will take some serious watching. They’re also very well set up at the back, so Dromore, who weren’t too hot in their preliminary round victory over Ardboe, will need to bring their ‘A’ game to proceedings.

That said, it’s unlikely complacency will set in as Eglish actually defeated Dromore by a point when they went head-to-head in the league this season.

“I watched Eglish’s game against Pomeroy. They’re a well-drilled outfit and play with a lot of intensity. I thought they were even more physical than Dungannon so it’ll take a massive effort to beat them, there’s no doubt about that. We really saw their worth in the league and it was a great game to get.”

McCusker’s personal contribution of five points against Dromore drew the plaudits, though the man himself was modest about his starring performance.

“On another day those points could’ve gone wide, and I missed a handy free. It wasn’t a perfect performance, but I was just happy to help the boys. They were outstanding.”