Derrygonnelly Harps midfielder Ryan Jones pictured at the launch of the AIB Ulster Club Senior Football Championship at the Athletic Grounds, Armagh, this week.
By Michael Devlin
While the Fermanagh-Tyrone boundary line may separate Derrygonnelly Harps and Trillick St Macartans, this Sunday’s AIB Ulster SFC quarter final meeting of the clubs will feel just like a local derby to Ryan Jones.
“Trillick are only down the road from us,” says the Harps midfielder. “There’ll be no secrets, both teams know each other inside out.”
Such is the Tyrone champions’ proximity to the Erne County that commonly many of their players would have attended St Michael’s College in Enniskillen. Jones and Trillick talisman Mattie Donnelly were classmates at the school for seven years, and played together on teams all the way up to MacRory Cup level.
“I would still be chatting with him every so often, and I’m sure there would be a lot of boys that would socialise with each other out in Omagh or Enniskillen. After the match, there might be a bit of banter and that, but until Sunday both teams will be trying to get one up on each other.”
Jones predicts that the close connections between the clubs will result in few blind spots when the sides set about preparing for one another this week.
“If you’re asking me is it going to be anything out of the ordinary, I would say I wouldn’t think so. I think both teams will have everything lined up, match-ups in place, they will know each other’s strong points.
“They would know our players really well, and we’d know them pretty well. What they see as our strengths, I’m sure they will have plans in place to nullify them.
“When Trillick came through the Tyrone championship, it no surprise to me to be honest. We would play them in challenge games most years simply because they are close to us.
“They are a serious team even without the county boys. You add those players into it then and they are pretty formidable. They won the Tyrone county final pretty easily really. Errigal Ciaran are a very good team but Trillick were in control. Look, we know the task that’s ahead of us, we’ll just give it a lash and see what happens.”
Jones lifts the Fermanagh Senior Football Championship trophy after Derrygonnelly's victory in the final over Roslea.
Derrygonnelly meanwhile come into the game having already dipped their toes into Ulster action. They dispensed of Antrim champions Cargin in Corrigan Park two weeks ago, the club’s first ever away win in the provincial competition and only their second ever Ulster victory in seven campaigns thus far.
Despite winning the last five Fermanagh championships in a row, the first hurdle in Ulster has continually been a source of frustration for the Harps, but Jones is delighted to have gotten over the line this year.
“It’s a nice to be in this position,” says the midfielder. “It was a solid performance for us, and a first away win in Ulster in the club’s history, which is nice to get.
“We were happy with some aspects of our performance. We looked at it and we realised there are certain things we need to improve on massively or else Trillick will punish us, so it’s about trying to improve on what we did against Cargin and work on the things that didn’t go to plan.
“We’ve won five in a row and are delighted to achieve that, but I think everyone would realise that probably Tyrone club football is a lot more competitive than Fermanagh club football. If Trillick were in the Fermanagh championship, we mightn’t have won five in a row. That’s the task we are facing.
“No disrespect to any club team in Fermanagh though, when we go out we know it’s going to be a serious test, and we take each game as it comes. Roslea gave us a great test in the final in tricky conditions, they are a well-drilled outfit.
“But as I say, that’s all history now and it’s all about this Sunday.”
