CHAMPIONS Trillick walk the Tyrone SFC tightrope again this weekend, taking precarious steps in the direction of forbidden destiny.
Since the title was last retained almost two decades ago, successive O’Neill Cup holders have tried in vain to win back-to-back titles, and all have failed.
Trillick coach Peter McGinnity doesn’t see it getting any easier, and Sunday’s quarter-final meeting with Ardboe carries all the risk and jeopardy that make the Red Hand series so unpredictable.
He has seen the lough shore side up close in both league and championship this season, and was highly impressed by their first round performance against Edendork.
Earlier in the year, they travelled to Trillick for a Division One tie and were unfortunate to lose by two points.
“Against Trillick in the league they were very impressive - great pace, good in the tackle and in supporting each other, the scores they took, all of those things they did very well.
“They did impress me, and in their championship match, they impressed me even more.”
McGinnity, Fermanagh’s first ever Allstar, has extensive experience of Tyrone club football, having guided Killyclogher and Trillick to championship titles.
For all his knowledge of the game, however, he’s still trying to figure out why the O’Neill Cup is so difficult to hold on to, but cites complacency as one potential pitfall that must be avoided.
“It seems insurmountable, but for all that, it makes it well, well worthwhile.
“Carrickmore are still talking about theirs (back-to-back) in 2005, so it is something that every team would like to achieve.
“You have to win the first one, and then the second year you have to withstand all the flak that comes at you, but we’ll do our best.
“It’s hard to put in words, you don’t want to feel that way, but maybe there’s a shadow of complacency there hanging over from last year. I don’t know, but it’s obvious in Tyrone that it is something that you have to work against, and it’s difficult to retain.”
Trillick’s first round victory over an Eglish side reeling from relegation from senior football was far from straightforward, but they got the job done with a strong second half, winning by 1-17 to 1-9.
“Getting by the first round is the most important thing. Okay, so you would like to do it in a certain way, but the bottom line was that we got through it.
“In fairness to Eglish, they put it up to us. We went five ahead, they came right back into it, and in the second half they caused us a lot of problems.
“We realise how much work we have to put in before the next round.”
For 20 minutes Eglish succeeded in frustrating the champions with a packed defensive structure, but quality began to show as the game progressed.
“Is this not the Tyrone championship? Who decides who wins? The team that works hardest on the day.
“And in fairness to Eglish, they did. They worked as hard as possible, they got men back, they attacked us well.
“The goal, obviously, in the first half, did them the world of good, but they still had to manufacture it. Look, I’d give them a lot of credit. But we’ll just bank it, and move on, that’s it.”
The St Macartan’s are back to full strength after dealing with some injury issues, with midfielder Richie Donnelly returning following a lengthy spell on the treatment table.
“The boys worked very hard at getting themselves ready for today. Richie will benefit enormously from that game, from a good competitive match.
“So there’s great credit due to both Jody [Gormley, manager] and Deccy Campbell for getting our players in shape and avoiding injuries as best we can.”
