The Senior Championship action gets under way tomorrow (Friday) night with the meeting of Enniskillen and Ederney in Brewster Park in what promises to be an intriguing encounter.

The sides have not met in a championship game since Enniskillen defeated Ederney back in 2006 in the final and, coincidentally, both sides have the same Manager as they had back then, with Simon Bradley in charge of the Gaels, and Mickey Cassidy at the helm for Ederney.

The sides have already met at Brewster Park this year with Enniskillen edging a tight contest by a single point in the league, although Ederney will feel that they should have taken something from the game.

Enniskillen went on to finish the league in third place, with Ederney sixth, but Enniskillen boss Bradley is reading nothing into that and knows his side face a massive test.

“I know Ederney have played a few challenge games outside the county in preparation for the championship and I wouldn’t read anything into where they finished in the league.

“They are a seasoned, experienced squad, back-boned by current and ex-county players, and they have also won a championship, so they know what it is all about.

“I think it is as tough a start as you could have asked for, but it’s championship football and all championship football is tough, no matter who you are playing,” he said.

Bradley also acknowledges the importance of winning the first game, however, he knows with the new format, defeat is not fatal to any side’s chances.

“Like any team at the start of the championship, you want to have a good run, but it is all about taking it one game at a time because all the teams are capable of beating each other.

“I think the first game for every team will be very important but unlike other years if you lose it you won’t be out – you have the chance to make up for that with two more games.

“I suppose the first goal is to try and get out of the group and avoid that relegation play-off, but if you can win the first one though, you would be looking to build momentum,” he added.

Enniskillen will be keen to build on last year’s run to the final and defensively they will look to Johnny Cassidy, James Ferguson and Josh Horan.

In the middle third, Brandon Horan, Richie O’Callaghan and Eoin Beacom are big players for the Gaels, while they will then look to Conor Love and John Reihill further forward.

The loss of Mark McCauley has been a blow for Ederney, while Sean Cassidy is also in doubt as he recovers from injury, but they have a lot of other quality to call on.

Chris Snow is an experienced figure between the posts while Declan McCusker is a driving force from centre half back and a key player when Ederney break forward.

Conor McGee and Marty McGrath give them a good platform around the middle, while they will then look to Paul McCusker, Ryan Morris and others to get them scores.

With two key forwards in the likes of Cassidy and McAuley unavailable for Ederney, Manager Mickey Cassidy knows his side have a huge challenge in their opening game.

“Enniskillen are a good side. They beat us in the Club Players Competition and the league, although it was our own messing up in the league game.

“When Enniskillen have a full side, I think they are a decent side. I think they have developed and come on since last year. And they will be very hard to beat in Brewster Park.

“We will be going in as underdogs.”

With a new change to how the Championship is being run out with league position determining your seeding, Cassidy admits he is a fan of the straight knock-out system.

“I don’t think the Championship should be linked to any other competition, I think it should be a draw out of the hat where everybody is in the same boat, or reward the league finalists by top seeds and play straight knockout. The Championship is the Championship.”

This promises to be a well-contested affair and the winner will take confidence into the remainder of the group stages.