Kiernans Service Station Senior Championship semi-final: Ramor United v Gowna (Sunday, Kingspan Breffni, 3pm)
TYRONE siblings Pat and Jude McNabb had always wanted to pool their management knowhow but Pat lives in their native Trillick and younger brother Jude is based in Drogheda these days.
The brothers identified the Cavan-Monaghan area as a halfway house and when the Ramor United job became available late last year they decided to throw their combined hat into the ring. They got the nod and… so far so good.
In their first season in Cavan football the McNabb duo have guided Ramor to the Division One title and now they’re a step away from a championship final.
“We did a bit of homework on the club and thought it could be a good fit, so we took them on and it has been very enjoyable so far,” says Omagh CBS PE teacher and coach Pat.
A double is in their sights but the challenge awaiting them in Sunday’s semi-final is as daunting as it gets – three in-a-row chasing defending champions Gowna.
“They’re all big games,” says McNabb.
“Castlerahan in the quarter-final was a big game. It was a derby match and there’s a bit of history with Ramor, so I know our boys were quite worried going into that game but they played well in fairness to them. It took us a while to break them down and it was level at half-time but maybe our fitness levels were a bit better.
“We got on top of them (and won by eight points) but we’d no sooner finished the game than the draw was made and we drew Gowna. So any sense of elation was brought down to earth again with the prospect of playing them.
“Cavan football is very physical and our boys did a ‘healthy’ pre-season and it is standing to them but fitness only takes you so far. Then it’s about having the quality to take on a team like Gowna who are full of very good players all over the pitch.
“I would have known Conor Casey from school football and he’s in there and the Maddens (Tiarnan, Conor and Daire)… They have a lot of good players so we’ll be up against it.”
Ramor’s progress is all the more commendable given that the two forwards who drove the club to the 2021 title – Seanie McAvoy and James Brady – have missed most of the season. McAvoy has missed it all, he is in the USA on a soccer scholarship, while luckless Brady recovered from a cruciate injury in 2022 and came back at the start of this championship.
He was nursed back into action and got his first start in the last group game but, with three minutes to go, he challenged for a ball and had his jaw (accidentally) broken in three places.
“The only saving grace is that we have played virtually all year without him,” says McNabb.
“We’re not blessed with an awful lot of flair but we more than make up for it with an unbelievable work ethic. I’ve never seen 15 boys go out onto the field in every game with a view to just working their socks off.
“They have to be admired for it and when you’ve got that, you’ve got something to work with. Every night at training you’re guaranteed that every man is there and also that they’re there to apply themselves and prepare as best as they can for the next game.
“They have a real sense of what it takes for them to be successful and it’s 100 per cent hard work. Whether we have enough quality-wise to beat Gowna remains to be seen but we’ll be difficult to beat.
“The four best teams in Cavan have got to the semi-finals so it’ll be exciting. The games are going to be tight and compelling viewing.”
Gowna accounted for Ballyhaise by 3-10 to 1-12 in their quarter-final but their form in the championship to date hasn’t been particularly eye-catching. They managed just one win in the group stage – a single-point success against Killygarry – but did enough to reach the knockout phase and will push hard to become the first club to manage a three in-a-row since Cavan Gaels (2007-2009).
In the other semi-final, the Gaels haven’t reached the final since their last title in 2017 and they are up against in-form Crosserlough on Saturday (7.15pm) at Kingspan Breffni. Cavan Gaels had two points to spare in their quarter-final victory Mullahoran while 2020 county champions Crosserlough continued their fine form from the group stage by blitzing Ballinagh 3-13 to 0-6.