ERRIGAL Ciaran manager Enda McGinley has his fingers crossed that playmaker Darragh Canavan is fit for the Tyrone senior championship final against Trillick on October 20.
The talismanic forward was withdrawn after 50 minutes of the semi-final clash with Killyclogher on Sunday night which Errigal won thanks to a last-minute Peter Harte point.
Canavan was double, even triple-marked throughout a bruising encounter at Healy Park and his absence – as creator and scorer – would be a massive blow to his club’s chances of dethroning the reigning champions.
“There were a lot of heavy hits out there,” said McGinley who took over from Mark Harte in the Errigal dugout at the end of last season.
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“A lot of off-the-ball stuff was happening – it was championship fayre. We have that (Canavan’s injury) to look after but you’d rather be in a final with injuries to look after than out.
“We have two or three lads we’re concerned about but we have two weeks. It was week-on-week through the league campaign with games so a two-week break between matches feels like a luxury.
“I hope most of them will have cleared up and if there is one or two we’re going to lose – I’ll not say who now - then there’s a really good panel there and I’ve no doubt there’ll be others ready to step up.”
Errigal and Trillick have contested three of the previous five county finals and met in 2019 and 2023 deciders (Trillick won both). In between, Errigal beat Carrickmore to win the 2022 title. McGinley – a four-time county championship winner with Errigal in his playing days – was very impressed with the style and pace Trillick displayed in their ruthless 10-point victory against Dungannon in their semi-final.
“My role now is to build up the opposition and play down our chances,” he said.
“But Trillick spoke for themselves on Friday night and they spoke for themselves last year as well as county champions.
“Trillick have shown the outfit that they are. Their level of performance against Dungannon was seriously impressive and they’ve strengthened their team from last year. So we know what we’re up against, we’ll try and get the injured bodies sorted and we’ll come back in two weeks and, like every match in the championship, the final will take on a life of its own.
“Previous performances won’t dictate the result – they didn’t last year for ourselves when we came in after a good semi-final win (by 18 points against Ardboe).
“Trillick have laid down the marker and it’s up to us to match it.”
In the opposition camp, Trillick manager Jody Gormley will be well aware of Errigal’s credentials. For 50 minutes on Sunday night McGinley’s side were the better team and Killyclogher struggled to match the movement and pace of their attacks.
However, Errigal failed to put the game to bed. Momentum swung when Darragh Canavan went off and their opponents came within a whisker of forcing a replay after Oisin McCann flicked home a late goal.
“The boys have put in serious effort for several years now,” said McGinley.
“You can go back to the Coalisland game (2021 semi-final) when they got three goals in the last seven minutes… Only for that this would be four county finals in-a-row. They’re there, they’re well capable of being there but they know from last year that county finals aren’t enjoyable if you lose them.
“We know we’re up against it in the final but I think our boys are happy to be there and happy to get another crack at it.
“Killyclogher were tough but so was Pomeroy in the first round and Clonoe after that… We have been tested, all of the teams are difficult and the quality throughout the Tyrone championship is just serious. I’m involved with the young cubs at U10/12/14 and you see the effort that every club is putting in - it gives you huge pride.”
