By Geoffrey Gillis
NEWTOWNSTEWART and Glenelly will be bidding to dent the prospects of an all Clogher valley Tyrone Junior Championship Final showdown, when they face Aghaloo and Augher in their respective semi finals under lights, at Omagh tomorrow evening.
It promises to set the tone for another action packed weekend of championship fare with action in all three grades, and while my journalistic colleague of "Starship Enterprise" fame will be rubbing his hands in anticipation of a neighbourly valley shootout, the Gaels of Newtownstewart and Glenelly will fancy their chances of upsetting the odds.
Glenelly and favourites Augher get proceedings underway at 7 pm, but the St Joseph's will take heart from Owen Roes' battling performance last Sunday. Virtually ruled out of contention, Owen Roes exposed considerable weaknesses in Augher's supposedly impenetrable armoury that will give manager Gerry Mone plenty of food for thought ahead of tomorrow's last four joust.
Augher have shown consistently they are a talented footballing side, but their reliance of Jamie Donnelly could prove fatal against a Glenelly side with reliable scorers throughout the field.
The St Macartan's showed in their replay against Strabane that they are capable of mixing it with the best on offer, and hopes are high that they can advance to their first major final in recent years. Finbarr McQuaid, Collie McKenna, Conor Hackett and Donnelly will be expected to deliver the goods, but the outcome could well hinge on how Stephen McCaffrey and Aidan Cassidy perform against Glenelly's midfield pairing of Joe McCullagh and Rory O'Connell.
Glenelly have defeated Brackaville and Derrytresk to reach the last four and having featured prominently throughout the league, they will take the field with genuine hopes of securing their first final appearance since 1983, when they lost out to Dregish.
Cathal Sheerin, Ciaran Kearney, Seamus Harkin and Cathal Nicholas are potential match winners, as the men from the Plum attempt to continue the trend of championship upsets. Sean McConnell's men will not lack motivation, but Augher have the more scope for improvement and that could be the decisive factor.
The main event at Omagh has all the ingredients necessary to serve up a classic as Newtownstewart and Aghaloo battle for a place in the final. Newtown will start the game as underdogs, but having overcome the challenges of Fintona and Drumragh they will relish that tag.
Their midfield pairing of Kevin Gallagher and Brendan Boyle have provided the launching pad for success thus far, and with Dean Arnold, Mickey McConomy, Turlough McNamee and Paul McKernan on board they will fancy their chances of securing their third Junior Final appearance this decade. They lost out in the previous two finals to Dregish and Eskra but throughout 2008 manager Vincent Gallagher has found an exciting blend of youth and experience that can't be underestimated. Jude Lynch is one such star to have progressed through the ranks and they will not fear Aghaloo.
If anything the onus is on Aghaloo to produce the goods because they are expected to win. Newtownstewart have nothing to lose. It is a classic win, win situation for the North Tyrone men, and if they Paul Houston and others step up to the plate, they won't be far away.
Under the guidance of Cathal Mulgrew Aghaloo have produced a mixture of mediocre and excellent football. They were lethargic against Castlederg before illustrating their title credentials against Drumquin, at Fintona two weeks ago.
Injury concerns over Eamon O'Neill, Damien McCaughey and Gerard Daly have hampered preparations, but they still possess enough power within their side to mount a successful challenge.
John O'Neill, Mark McCormack, Phelim Og Gildernew, Stephen Beattie and Stephen Donnelly will lead their challenge, as the Monaghan Road side strive to add the Junior title to the McGarrity Cup secured last weekend with victory over Strabane. Newtown will give it everything they have but the feeling is Aghaloo will prevail to keep "Captain Kirk" in dreamland.
