DERRYGONNELLY’S commitment this year has been undeniable - which is why they’ll heartily celebrate reaching the Ulster Club SFC Final.
The Fermanagh champions aren’t finished yet, aiming to become the first club from the Erne County to lift the Seamus Mac Ferran Cup, but full-forward Conall Jones freely admitted that wouldn’t mean abstinence after their semi-final success over Armagh’s Clann Eireann on Saturday night past:
“I’ll tell you one thing: we worked hard for this so we’re going to enjoy it. The other side had two hot favourites for the All-Ireland, never mind Ulster, so we just wanted to get to the final first of all. Our sole focus was getting there. When you reach goals like that you have to enjoy them - otherwise, what’s the point?”
Provincial title-holders Kilcoo came through the second semi-final, the Down representatives overcoming first-time Derry champs Glen of Maghera after extra time on Sunday.
Derrygonnelly were much more comfortable in seeing off Lurgan side Clann Eireann, Jones netting a goal in between two others from Shane McGullion inside a devastating early six-minute spell.
Jones would surely have settled for any sort of victory, though, explaining: “It means everything for this club - this was our third semi-final, one of them went to a replay, so we just really wanted to get over the line.
“We wanted to create history for the club. It’s been a big year for the club, we’ve been inspired the whole way along by Peter [Jones] and his tragic passing. This is just not for the team and the management, it’s for the whole club and community.”
The club’s coaching officer, Peter Jones drowned in Lough Melvin in July. Two of his children, Aaron and Leigh, started for the Harps against Clann Eireann, and he would have been thrilled to see how the team raced into a 3-2 to no score lead.
Conall Jones obviously enjoyed that experience too, recalling: “We were dominating the game, the ball was coming in early and up front we were causing them a lot of hassle.
“We got three goals early on and then obviously the sending-off [of midfielder Stephen McGullion just before half-time] set us back a bit, we had to sit back and track runs back, which took away from our attacking play. You have to do that in Ulster games: push on when you can but grind it out when you have to.”
Derrygonnelly registered just two wides, compared to nine from Clann Eireann, who might otherwise have made a closer challenge than losing by 3-11 to 1-11.
Jones was pleased with his side’s improved accuracy, commenting: “Our attackers and attacking defenders showed great skill-sets when they got the opportunities; a lot of our scores were from outside 30, 35 yards, taken very well. We didn’t get too many wides. It’s great to be in an Ulster Final. It’s all this club ever wanted. We’re creating history, it’s just brilliant.
“We probably weren’t clinical in the Fermanagh Championship but we really showed our skill-set and our class in that first half. We also showed how to close a game out. Just delighted for the whole community, you could see what it means.”
This is Derrygonnelly’s sixth Ulster campaign since 2015, having won five Fermanagh titles in a row before they suffered a surprise defeat in last year’s decider.
The bounce-back has been brilliant, but hard work too, Jones pointed out: “Last year was very disappointing for us. We were on the road a long time in Fermanagh. We were beaten by a very good Ederney team, but we felt we maybe took the eye off the ball a bit.
“This year we put a lot of things in place to give ourselves the best platform to move forward and we really stepped up [against Clann Eireann].”
The efforts included Jones and his older brother Ryan, the Harps captain, stepping away from the inter-county scene this year, but new Fermanagh boss Kieran Donnelly has already said he wants them back - but he’ll be happy to wait.
Jones laughed at that, saying: “I hope he’s happy enough anyway! I took a year out, a lot of personal stuff going on, a couple of injuries with myself I wanted to get cleared up. I got a good break to do that; it was great to get out with the club, and the young boys.
“You can see how much our young boys have come on this year, how much we’ve used them this year compared to last year. It’s great to get out training for six, seven, eight months - nearly 12 months at this stage. We’ve earned our rewards.”
The hard work will continue as they attempt to dethrone Kilcoo - but celebrations come first.
