By Kieran Lynch

AS four-in-a-row champions of Down, Bredagh are on a high heading into a historic weekend for the club.

They will compete in Ulster on two fronts this Sunday as their senior team take on Antrim’s St. Ergnats Moneyglass in the senior championship, whilst their B Team face Drumgoon Éire Óg of Cavan at junior level.

Senior team manager Gerry Rodgers attributes such success and strength in depth, to the hard work that has been happening behind the scenes at Bredagh for a long time now.

“That reflects where we’re at and what we’ve done. Some amount of work has happened over the last considerable number of years at underage in Bredagh in bringing players through.”

He expanded on this point, by highlighting the tremendous success the club has achieved at minor level.

“A lot of talent has come from our minor panel, as we have won three Ulster minor titles. It’s a very exciting time in Bredagh to be honest, in terms of the sheer number of girls wanting to play and the level they’re at.

“What’s the saying? ‘A rising tide lifts all boats.’ That’s very much what’s happening in Bredagh at the moment.”

For his team, victory over Castlewellan last time out crowned them with their fourth consecutive Down championship title, so there will be expectation on the team to push on in Ulster. Despite this, Rodgers stressed the need for his team to take things one step at a time.

“To put it in to perspective, this club is yet to even win a single game in the Ulster senior football championship. So the first step is to try and win a game, and that’s an achievement in itself.”

Come Sunday, it will have been three weeks since Bredagh last played competitive football as they got a bye in the quarter-finals, whilst Moneyglass got their Ulster campaign off to a roaring start with a 3-12 to 3-6 win over Armagh Harps last weekend. Rodgers believes that the extra game works to Moneyglass’s advantage.

He said, “It’s good to be in an Ulster semi-final, but I’d rather be in an Ulster semi-final with a win under my belt. I’d rather be in Moneyglass’s situation, where they’ve won a game, and quite a good game to win, as opposed to be sitting and waiting to make our debut this Sunday.”

The momentum that Moneyglass have been building over recent weeks, coupled with their home-field advantage, leaves Rodgers in no doubt that his side are in for a battle come Sunday.

“We’ll give them a lot of respect. They beat a fancied St. Paul’s team very convincingly in the Antrim final, and now they’ve beaten an Armagh Harps team, who many people expected to progress in Ulster this year.”

“I’ve seen them a number of times now and they’re always very well organised, very well structured and we’ve obviously got to try and take that on board. But I think it’s very important that we bring our game to the table and see where it takes us.”

Rodgers concluded with a message that should give anybody travelling to the match on Sunday, reason to look forward to it.

“I think it’ll be a very good game that will be very good to watch, because both teams are entertaining sides who like to play good football.”