Favourites often try to shrug off that tag, but Four Masters truly aren’t bothered by the label.
Being holders does not usually bring much advantage at underage grades, due to players moving on, but the move back to U18 from the previous U17 limit means that the reigning champions will still have the players who triumphed on New Year’s Day against Cavan Gaels.
However, joint-manager Greg Doherty points out that that particular ‘f-word’ description directed at them is not a one-off for this group of lads:
“We’ve been winning county titles all up through the ranks, so we start every year with expectation, the feeling from outside that we’re going to be favourites.
“The lads are used to handling that. It doesn’t matter to us whether we’re favourites or not, and that’s not making light of it.”
Alongside Odie McBride, Doherty, is aiming to take a step closer to a third consecutive St Paul’s tournament final, having lost the 2022/3 decider to Derry’s Dungiven in heartbreaking fashion, to a last-gasp goal.
A largely new group came back to emerge victorious last season and their attempt at retaining the Jimmy McConville Cup commences against their Monaghan counterparts.
They haven’t seen much of Scotstown due to a county final video of disappointing quality, but Doherty insists they know enough not to look any further:
“We’re fully focussed on Scotstown – nothing else and nobody else matters, that’s the way the lads are viewing it.
“We’ve been trying to do a bit of sussing out from contacts we have. We know they’re a very good side because they beat Castleblayney in their semi-final – and Castleblayney were a good team last year. We got a bit of a run on them with a couple of goals in the first half and it was hard for them to come back, but we’d been able to watch them in their quarter-final and do some work on them.”
Doherty makes mention of Scotstown’s ‘pedigree’ and indeed boys from An Bhoth reached this tournament’s first final in 1982, losing out to hosts St Paul’s. They were also beaten in the 2008 decider, so would love to become only the second winners from Monaghan, after Clontibret in 2002.
This season brought a first Monaghan minor/ senior double since 1981 and Scotstown would have hoped to have requested a re-arrangement of this fixture, in order to watch their senior side in the Ulster final, but Kilcoo put paid to that dream.
Some change may still be required due to Storm Darragh, although organisers are optimistic that the game will be the first this year to take place on the grass at Shaw’s Road rather than the all-weather pitch at Colaiste Feirste.
Wherever, whenever, Four Masters will know it’s just a game, after a difficult week, with Wednesday having brought the funeral of the mother of player Terence McGovern.
“He’s a strong, young man, a big part of the group, so we’re just managing that as best we can,” said Doherty. “We’ve been saying to the boys, that puts life into perspective. We’ve been rallying behind him and his family.”
Although McGovern has understandably sat out recent games, many of his team-mates helped Four Masters win the recent Donegal U21 final and have also been involved with Abbey Vocational School in the MacRory Cup.
They should carry that ‘favourites’ mantle into the semi-finals.
