Improving Clones face biggest step

By Michael McMullan

CLONES front man Darren Freeman admits his side face an uphill task against Ballybay this weekend but is content with their progress.

They take on the 2022 senior champions in the semi-final of the Intermediate Championship on Saturday.

This is now. Clones have made huge strides in the last five years.

They were languishing in mid-table mediocrity in junior before manager Adrian Alford brought some shape to them.

After winning the Junior title in his first season, in 2022, they’ve been competitive at intermediate level and are now in a second season under new manager Johnny Feely.

Freeman missed the early part of this season due to soccer commitments with Enniskillen Town’s Irish Junior Cup winning campaign.

Cameron Dowd was on county duty and they had injuries to content with too.

The Ulster League was used to get a look at as many players as possible. They held their own in a very competitive Monaghan Intermediate League, where three points separated the top eight teams.

Freeman had spent five years in New York before returning to Dublin where he played for St Brigid’s and later returned to Clones.

“We weren’t competing at all, we were getting to semi-finals and well beaten,” Freeman said of the spell before Alford came on board.

“He came in when he stepped away from playing. He got two other lads that were in around the same age as him to come in with him.”

Alford has spent time with the underage teams, knew what was coming and have some older players returning to the fold.

“We just got standards back again and we started to push. This our fourth year intermediate now,” Freeman added.

“Feeley came in last year. Out of four championship games we threw three, lost one.

“This year we’ve competed well in each game and we’ve won two, drew one, lost one. We get into the quarters and beat Monaghan Harps which would be a big step.”

After a win over Tyholland and a draw with Aughnamullen, Clones needed victory over league champions Killanny to turn the tables with Donaghmoyne lurking in the final game.

“If we lost that, we probably wouldn’t have went through,” Freeman points out.

“We won that, they (Killanny) had won the league actually and that knocked them out.”

It’s all progress for Clones who have not tasted senior football in close to four decades. They are no at the top end of intermediate with plenty of promise.

“Adrian Alford done a lot of the groundwork behind the scenes,” he added.

“He took a lot of young lads through that are starting now on the team and a few of us are back.

Having former Monaghan player Fintan Kelly back full time is a help. Cameron Dowd has been a revelation going in with the county and Fabian Beggan has in and around the squad.

“We just got boys back and youth coming through and we got up for first year down in junior” he added.

“We’ve held our own since then but I suppose now is the time to start pushing on a little bit.”

Darren’s wife Michaela has been part of the driving force behind the return of the senior ladies’ team this season.

“There’s good buzz about the club,” he adds. “With the underage going well too, there’s just more of a community feel around the town.”

Looking ahead to Saturday, they face a Ballybay team who were relegated from the Senior Championship last season, having hand a swathe of injuries, including Dessie Ward and Drew Wylie.

“If you’re calling it right, most people will have Ballybay as big favourites with their calibre of players,” Freeman feels.

“They went through the group conceding the least I think and they went through it relatively easy.

“They’ll be very hard to beat, are a quality outfit but we just have to be on our A game.”

“We’re the same, we’ve got everyone there so we’ve no excuses. We’ve a full panel to pick from.

“It’s our fourth year in the intermediate and we’ve been the kick of a ball from getting into the quarter finals.

“We’ve been in the bottom four nearly every year. The last two years we’ve lost out on score defence.

“We’ve full panel players to pick from, so it’s a big help when you’ve got that and everyone has bought in.”