With 15 minutes to go in their semi-final clash with Moy, the Glenelly faithful could have been forgiven for thinking that the minor team's season was dead and buried. The side trailed the Tir na Nog lads by nine points, but just like their quarter-final against Rock, where they also trailed, the team fought back to record a remarkable comeback.

This never say die spirit has been visible in this team from an early age according to manager Sean McConnell, "There's always been a situation, from age 14 onwards, with this panel of boys, that they've always had great belief.

"Times in the past when they've been down, like the quarter-final against Rock where they were three or four points down, they've been able to pull it back."

This fighting attitude is evident in the team's results in the league this season says Sean, "They actually haven't been beat in the league at all this year. We drew one against Fintona, at a point when a lot of the lads were doing their A-levels and they knew they had already qualified, it maybe wasn't just as important to them."

Sean believes this hunger is also fuelled from having come so close on previous occasions, "Half of this team formed the nucleus of the under-16 team which lost the county final to Moy last year by six points, and the experience gained there should be useful".

A theory backed up by team captain Colm Hicks, "I'll definitely be hoping to win this one, because I lost the under-16 league against Moy and Stewartstown beat us in the championship, so it's good to get another crack at them. We've gone unbeaten and Stewartstown have done the same so it should be a battle at the end of the day."

The side's battling spirit may come from the fact that the team is made up from a panel of 18 players, "They've all grown up together, they're all from the parish, and they all went to school together, we've lost two or three over the years who've moved away, but they are a close bunch of lads," says Sean.

He is also aware of the importance of success and silverware for the future of the club, "If you have a winning habit it's easier to keep it, and it's easier to attract new people in. And the fact that we got to the county final last year, people will look at us and say, you're doing the right thing coaching wise in that club.

"Over the last half dozen years we've had boys making the MacRory cup panel, at one stage we had six on the panel, we've had boys making the Tyrone minor teams, and that didn't happen in the 80s and 90s in Glenelly.

"Three of these boys have played in the semi-final of the junior championship this year, Tim Harney has done goals and Colm Hicks played left half back and Kevin McCullagh has played corner forward and two or three others are on the panel as well. Out of the panel, ten of them have played senior or reserve football this year."

But Sean is not underestimating the task that faces them against Stewartstown, a team this panel knows well.

"We met Stewartstown twice last year at under-16, we beat them in the championship semi-final and they beat us in the semi-final of the league, and the bones of both of those teams form the minor teams for this final," explained Sean.

"We have a lot of respect for Stewartstown, over the years they have produced some very good senior footballers, never mind minor footballers, but we have a belief in ourselves that we can go on and win this. I feel that if with ten minutes to go, we are within a couple of points, once we got that drive we'd be hard to handle and we would push on for the win. And hopefully we'll have a big support on the day."

Skipper Hicks also believes that the sides games so far this season and their fighting spirit, will stand them in good stead come the final.

He said, "We've had a couple of close encounters, especially against Rock, one of two games that went to extra time, which I think helps us fitness wise, but in both those games when we got into extra time, we went on to win by a good margin.

"In the Moy game, with a man up, we always believed that if we got a goal we could go on to win it, and when we did get that goal, there was no stopping us, there's good spirit in this team and we knew we could do it.

"We've only got a panel of 18 players but that gives a good strong bond, so we've a great chance and hopefully we'll come out with the win."

With their tight knit panel and never say die spirit, there's a good chance they will.