IF THE Ulster club football championship has so far been somewhat underwhelming and lacking excitement then Sunday’s final should at least make amends.
Derry champions The Loup take on St Gall’s of Antrim in a repeat of the 2003 final, which the Derry club narrowly won, and no one is expecting much between them this time either.
There are probably a few reasons why Ulster club football has failed to ignite this season. It wasn’t helped by the fact perennial heavyweights Crossmaglen didn’t make it out of Armagh for the first time in a decade, nor by the early championship exits of Tyrone champions Dromore and Donegal title-holders St Eunan’s.
The Loup against St Gall’s, however, comes against an interesting backdrop.
Truth is, few people expected The Loup to progress this far, but now they have, much of the credit is being directed towards their manager, John Brennan.
He’s in his first year with the club, but came with a formidable reputation, thanks to his remarkable managerial record at club level, having now won seven county senior football titles with five different clubs, in three separate counties.
This includes winning a Derry county championship with his own club, Lavey, also with Tyrone’s Carrickmore, Antrim side Cargin, as well as another Derry club, Slaughtneil. By guiding The Loup to this year’s Derry title, Brennan made it five different clubs.
“He’s certainly been a huge addition to the club,” explains The Loup chairman Seán Corey. “He’s very well known as a no-nonsense manager, and has proved that.
“You know sometimes with the youth of today they need to be kept in line, with a firm hand. But in fairness, all the players have knuckled down this year as well.”
Brennan has been ably assisted by another well-known training guru of Ulster football, Martin McElkennon, who has worked with a range of county teams, including Monaghan and Cavan.
Since they beat Dungiven in the county final – their first success since 2003, and only their third Derry title – The Loup have gone from strength to strength.
The 2003 success was also the start of something big, as they not only went on to beat St Gall’s to claim the Ulster title, but made it to the 2004 All-Ireland semi-final, where the lost out to the ultimate champions, Caltra of Galway.
There are still a few big names from that 2003 team, including midfielder Johnny McBride and former Derry stand-out Paul McFlynn. “We’d have maybe seven or eight players still left from that 2003 team,” adds Corey, “but we’ve also brought through a good few younger players as well. I think both ourselves and St Gall’s have been a little lucky along the way to get this far.
“St Gall’s are obviously very experienced, have won something like eight of the last nine Antrim titles. But we have that bit of experience as well, and I expect it will be very close on Sunday.”
St Gall’s won Antrim titles in 2001, ’02, ’03, ’04 and ’05 – before resuming their sequence in ’07, ’08 and ’09. More importantly, they’ve been showing significant firepower up front, particularly through former Fermanagh star Rory Gallagher, who hit 2-4 in the semi-final win over Clontibret.
They also won the Ulster title in 2005, and Sunday’s final is their seventh – having won two, lost three and drawn one so far.
The Loup only edged past Down champions Kilcoo in their semi-final, and will be underdogs on Sunday, but it still promises to be close – exactly the sort of game the Ulster club championship needs.
