By Harry Walsh
Gallagher, Bonner and McFadden missed last weekend’s league match in Malin while Brian Farrelly limped off with a hamstring injury.
While full-back Eamon Ward is the only member of the Glenswilly squad to have sampled the rarefied atmosphere that is the Ulster Senior Club Championship in the past – during his days with Clontibret – most of the squad were pat of the team which reached the Ulster Intermediate Club final back in 2007.
“The lads are four years older and that little bit more experienced. This caps off a great year for the club but we’re hopefully we’re not finished just yet,” joint team manager Gary McDaid said.
Noting that Crossmaglen and St Gall’s have shared the last seven Ulster club titles between them, McDaid said that his charges had added the same ruthless streak to their play as that displayed by the Armagh and Antrim kingpins.
“Our boys have brought more of that physicality to their game this year. They play right on the edge and it takes a hell of a lot of work on the training ground to get that balance right. We’re a big, strong team and we use that to our advantage. Do clubs expect us to stand back and let them run through us? We were accused of crossing the line in the semi final (v Kilcar) but I thought we played to our strengths. We’ll make no apologies for that,” Gary McDaid said.
While Cavan football is noted for being on the physical side the Cavan champions have a number of quality county players in their line-up.
Seanie Johnston and Michael Lyng have been members of the Cavan senior team for a number of seasons and they are quality footballers. County captain Johnston plays at full-forward and spearheads the attack while Lyng, their scorer-in-chief, plays at centre-forward.
“Lyng and Johnston would be two of their better known players but they added some exciting young U21 players into their team this year – players who have brought a real injection of pace with them,” he said.
“This will be a massive test for the boys but one I think that they’ll rise to. They’ll relish the chance to mix it with the best and I think we’ve another big performance or two in us yet.
“We’ve been underdogs for much of the year and it will nothing new for us to go in as underdogs on Sunday. If we’re within touching distance with ten minutes to go you never know what might happen.
“We’re working off a strong panel of 27 players and the lads have worked extremely hard at training since January. We haven’t started with the same fifteen players in any of our games recently and that shows the strength of our squad. Hopefully, everyone will be fit for selection come the weekend but I’ve full faith in each and every one of them,” he said.
Should Glenswilly win this weekend they will play host to Monaghan champions Latton at MacCumhaill Park, Ballybofey on October 30.
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