Erne Gaels all set for Ederney semi-final

By Mark McGoldrick

REIGNING champions Erne Gaels will bid to make it to their fourth successive Fermanagh Senior Football Championship final this weekend when they face Ederney in a crunch semi-final clash.

Following the quarter-finals, the Belleek side were drawn to face the St Joseph’s men, who had qualified for the last four following the conclusion of the group stage, after they topped their respective section.

The sides will renew acquaintances a few weeks after they played out a hard-fought draw in Páirc na hÉirne, with Ederney overturning an 11-point deficit, to claim an important draw and point.

Erne Gaels head into the game on good form, producing their best performance to date in the championship against Lisnaskea on Saturday evening, to the delight of manager Declan Bonner.

“It was a decent enough performance. We kicked 1-21 which was good,” he said.

“It was an improvement on last week’s and we still left a number of scores out there.”

Ederney have strengthened their ranks since their last meeting with the Belleek side with Mark McCauley, one of the most prolific forwards in the game, returning home from Australia.

In the other semi-final, Derrygonnelly will take on Teemore, who booked their place in the last four with a big win over Belnaleck, with Eoin McManus kicking a late ‘45 to seal a deserved victory.

Teemore manager Tony Collins is relishing the challenge of taking on the Harps.

“There was a lot of edge coming into the game (against Belnaleck). It was a win at all costs game and thankfully we showed a fair bit of character to finish the game off.

“They are a formidable outfit. We all know Derrygonnelly have experience and they have a lot of youth coming in now too, but we’ll not be afraid to take on Derrygonnelly.”

“It’s new territory for our boys taking on a seasoned team like Derrygonnelly, but it’s a semi-final and anything can happen,” added the Shamrocks boss.

Teemore are sweating over the fitness of full-forward Seán McNally for the encounter however, who appeared to sustain a hamstring injury during their victory over Belnaleck on Saturday.