Junior Cup Still the Mecca for Local Players
February 23, 2012
Winning the Irish Junior Cup is still the Mecca for all junior clubs in the province and well over 200 teams started out last September in their quest to lift the coveted trophy.
We have reached the quarter final stage and two sides carry the hopes of the Fermanagh & Western. Eight times the trophy has been won by an F&W side and the Tyrone end of the F&W have yet to produce a winner.
Enniskillen Town United represents Fermanagh while Strathroy Harps represent Tyrone in the blue riband competition of Junior football.
Enniskillen Town have a genuine chance of lifting the trophy for a record third time as they have home advantage against Windmill Stars from Newry. The Town had a shaky start to this season, losing twice and drawing once in their first four outings of the season.
Rory Judge has since turned this around and they are on a winning sequence stretching right back to September 17. The non-eligibility of Cathal Beacom will test Town but they should have a panel capable of overcoming a tricky quarter final.
Their league goal difference suggests they are an extremely potent force going forward but defensively tend to concede more goals than they should. Gary Beckett remains their ace in the pack and given enough service should prove too much of a handful for Windmill.
The Newry team are themselves on a good run and have not tasted defeat since mid October last and sit on top of the Carnbane Premier Division. Last week they defeated second-placed Killeavey & Shanro United by 3 goals to nil, a team Town beat 7 goals to 1 in this year's Junior Cup third round.
I watched them defeat Lisnaskea Rovers in the last round on a tricky pitch, centre forward O'Rourke notching a hat-trick and could have scored three more. He has since tweaked a hamstring and may be a doubt for Saturday's clash. They looked a decent team going forward but suspect at the back as Lisnaskea scored three goals against them. Windmill won the Junior Cup back in 2003 and has since rebuilt a good footballing side capable of challenging for honours.
Strathroy Harps' start to this season was even worse than Enniskillen Town's, with two defeats and two draws in their opening four games. They are now on an unbeaten run stretching back to September 3 and must go in to their quarter-final brimming with confidence.
They face last year's beaten finalists and the team Enniskillen Town defeated in the 2007 final. Bessbrook are having a great season with only two defeats in all competitions, one of these a three nil defeat to Windmill Stars a few weeks ago. Strathroy have proven themselves to be a good cup side over the years and have already taken the scalp of Lincoln Court at home this season by a comfortable 3-0 score line. The draw has been kind to Strathroy this year with plenty of home ties and they have a real chance of making it through to their first Junior Cup semi final.
Self belief for both local sides is such an important aspect of cup runs and eradicating silly errors which can cost you your place in the next round. By quarter final stage most of the poor sides have been dumped out and you can expect to face a quality team with genuine aspirations of winning the trophy.
A home tie at this stage is critical if you are to progress and both F&W sides should be slight favourites to make it through to the semis.