‘Finer details’ will decide Ulster JFC final says Emyvale boss

By Niall Gartland

EMYVALE are only one of four select clubs to have pocketed more than one Ulster Junior Championship title in their history, but joint-manager Owen Lennon says that’s entirely irrelevant to what happens in Saturday’s showdown against Clogher.

Previous titles in 2007 and 2013 point to a proud history, but Lennon is more concerned by what happened last weekend.

They overcame Munterconnaught with plenty to spare on the scoreboard to book their spot in the final, but their first-half performance wasn’t up to scratch, and that concerns Lennon ahead of the big day.

“The past isn’t something that we’ve tapped into. There’s a few of the older guys still involved, but generally it’s a whole new team, and it’s about getting things right on the pitch – that’s what matters.

“We’ll look back at our semi-final and in my book it wasn’t acceptable and isn’t going to be good enough on Saturday.

“We didn’t play well in the first half – our defence was okay, but our attacking play wasn’t up to our usual standards, so that’s something we need to look back on and rectify.”

This is the former Monaghan manager’s second year at the helm of Emyvale. It hasn’t all been plain-sailing, particularly on the personnel front, though the recent return to the fold of former AFL player Karl Gallagher is a massive boost, particularly with long-standing county footballer Ryan McAnespie, who was involved in their 2013 provincial success, and Michael Hamill still sidelined with injury.

“When we came to Emyvale, Karl got his contract in Australia so he was gone, and then Ryan and Michael picked up serious injuries and they’ve been missing all season. It’s difficult when your best players aren’t able to play. It’s difficult for the lads on a personal level, missing out on big games for their club as well.”

Emyvale have enjoyed a virtually unblemished 2025 season and bagged the league and championship double before embarking on a run through Ulster. Clogher are in a similar enough boat, even if they narrowly missed out on the Division 3A title in Tyrone, so both teams have serious momentum behind them at this stage.

“Clogher have a lot of experience of Intermediate football in Tyrone, and I think in that respect the two teams are fairly evenly balanced. They’ve barely lost a game all season, so it makes for a 50/50 match.”

Geographically, though the two teams aren’t direct neighbours, they aren’t far off it. That adds another subplot to Saturday’s game, but again Lennon is keen to emphasise that it all comes down to who performs better on the day.

“We’re not too far away, so there’s a bit of familiarity between the boys, but as I said, it will ultimately come down to the finer details on the day itself.”