Monaghan duo going for glory in the AIB Ulster Club Football Championships

Bonds, bankruptcies, bills, burst bubbles. Hair shirt times for us all. Boom times though for the O’Neills and the Gaels; Doohamlet and Corduff, that is writes Kevin Carney

Not content with having chivvied out blue riband county titles a few weeks ago, both have went on a joyous safari around the province.

Instead of pulling the curtains down on 2010 after making Monaghan’s top table, Doohamlet and Corduff’s finest have made little of winter’s vast grey curtains of rain and wind to terrorise opponents in Ulster.

This Sunday at Brewster Park, Enniskillen, Doohamlet will attempt to reach the Ulster club IFC final by dint of a win over Tyrone kingpins Derrylaughan.

Last time out, Tyrone’s intermediate standard bearers needed the leg-up of a pumped up extra-time performance to emerge victorious (2-15 to 0-16) over Drumalee at Kingspan/Breffni Park with midfield dynamo Brendan Quinn bagging his side’s two goals.

For their part, Doohamlet warmed up for their participation in the penultimate round of the provincial championship by beating Armagh aces Sarsfields by 1-10 to 0-8 at Crossmaglen on Sunday last.

Taking time out from pinching himself to look ahead to this weekend’s semi-final, Doohamlet chairman John Doran can sense the superlatives tripping off his tongue.

“It’s a fantastic time for the club what with winning the intermediate championship for the first time and now on the verge of getting into the Ulster final

“It’s amazing considering that 15 years ago we were almost as low as you can get in division four.”

Doran’s delight at the upturn of his club’s fortunes on the field of play is matched only by his pride in listing out the developments which have taken place in recent years at the O’Neills’ HQ.

So things are going swimmingly for Doohamlet right now either side of the white line. Can they keep the run going?

“We played Derrylaughan in the south Ulster league last spring and they got the better of us that day so we know what we’re up against.

“Fergal (Reel), our manager, decided to field an experimental side that day and give some of the younger lads a bit of much needed experience.

“In fairness to Derrylaughan, they gave us a bit of a lesson in working the ball up the field at speed and playing quick frees.

“Their number five and seven were found of racing up the wings too and our forwards spent as much time in our backline as they did up front.

“They were beating us by something like ten points at one stage but then we got back to within two or three.

“Then, like they were turning on a switch, they stepped it up again and after scoring a goal ran out winners by six or seven points in the end.”

Full report in the Northern Standard