Derrygonnelly have to be ready for a Teemore side ‘with nothing to lose’

The Harps enter the Championship as the bookies’ favourites to defend their crown and they will be looking to get off to a winning start when they host Division Two outfit Teemore in their group opener.

On the face of it, this would look like the perfect start for Derrygonnelly against the lowest-seeded team in the competition, but they will be all too aware of Teemore’s championship pedigree and they will expect them to bring a severe challenge.

“Teemore are a seasoned outfit with a great championship pedigree,” said Harps joint Manager Mick Glynn.

“They’ll be coming to Derrygonnelly on Sunday evening with nothing to lose, and the challenge for us is to meet what is thrown at us and win the game.”

On the championship as a whole, Glynn knows very well just how competitive this year’s championship will be.

“As defending champions we will be doing our upmost to retain the cup, but we are very aware of the genuine challengers that are out there.

“Anyone of the eight teams in the Senior championship could beat each other, and the challenge for us is to be ready for every game,” he added.

For Teemore Manager Barry Owens, their first goal is to ensure they secure their Senior championship status and in doing so, progress to the knock-out stages.

“I suppose our first priority would be to try and stay in the championship.

“We’ve a tough group but hopefully we’ll be able to accumulate enough points to make the knock-out stages,” he said.

However, he knows that they have probably the most difficult opener they could have asked for in an away game against Derrygonnelly.

“We probably couldn’t get a tougher draw than Derrygonnelly away.

“They have a good mix of youth and experience in their team, and after their great run to the Ulster Club final last year, they’ll be keen to get back to that stage.

“We just have to go out and play as best we can and hopefully we get a bit of luck along the way,” said Owens.