By Niall Gartland

WHILE they may not have been on the periphery of things, it’s a cold, hard fact that Ardboe haven’t won the Tyrone Senior Championship title since 1998.

That’s a long time for a club of their stature, but their new manager Mickey Donnelly isn’t making any great promises ahead of their mouth-watering preliminary round clash against Dromore this Sunday afternoon. As a curtain-raiser for the senior championship, you couldn’t get much better,

This is Donnelly’s second stint in charge – he led Ardboe to the cusp of championship glory but his opposition manager this weekend, Colm McCullagh, dashed their dreams with a game-winning penalty in the 2009 decider.

The less said about that one, the better, but Donnelly says it could be another couple of years before the Loughshore club are competing for the title in Tyrone.

“The draw hasn’t been kind to us. I’m not trying to be facetious but any progress we make in this year’s championship will be a bonus.

“We have a young team and I think we can be competitive in the coming years. 2021 is possibly too early for us, but we’ll have a really good cut at Dromore and we’re still excited about it.

“There isn’t the trappings of the past as it is a new team. That’s brilliant, but we’re conscious we’re facing a team that have won three championships in the last 15 years, which is remarkable when you consider how often the O’Neill Cup changes hands in Tyrone.”

Ardboe welcomed back All-Ireland winning duo Michael O’Neill and Michael Cassidy with open arms in the wake of their victory over Mayo on September 11. Cassidy didn’t get much game-time this year, but he’s a super talent, while O’Neill came of age this season and was particularly effective in that unforgettable semi-final victory over Kerry. He’s a top footballer, but it’s his enthusiasm and attitude that sets him apart as something special.

“You don’t just lose the players, you lose their leadership, the things you can’t measure. You immediately know the difference when those boys are there, it’s night and day.”

“I remember Michael [O’Neill] didn’t make the Tyrone minor panel when I was in charge in 2013. But he stuck at it and look where he is now. I’ve no doubt he’ll get an All-Star nomination.

“He’s the epitome of the new Tyrone regime. It’s not about the ‘me’, it’s about the ‘we’. He’s selfless and he’s no problem stepping out of the limelight to let someone else in it.

“He’s a wonderful character. He leads. He’s determined and a winner. He’s a role model for people. I don’t want to labour the point about him not making the minors, but he got up off his backside and did the hard work. He overtook lads who, at 17 or 18 years of age, were ahead of him.”

Ardboe actually played Dromore in a league match a fortnight ago and edged a highly competitve contest by a point. Donnelly didn’t get the impression that Dromore were holding anything in reserve.

“It was a very competitive game. The bottom line is Dromore were top of the league and didn’t want to slip up, and we needed points as we’re midtable, so I think that’s it in a nutshell.

“Looking at the league table, it’s unbelievably congested in the middle third. You’ve nine or ten teams separated by a few points. It’s just crazy.”

That win over Dromore was actually their first match in two months as club fixtures were placed on hold during Tyrone’s run to the All-Ireland title.

Donnelly has been understanding of the way things have unfolded for clubs this year, but knows it’s hard for teams like bottom-placed Edendork to play so many starred matches without their county men.

“The Tyrone CCC has done a remarkable job this year, selling nine starred games to clubs – that can’t have been easy. Clubs have got on with it. A lot of teams have been hit, but I can’t imagine how recently promoted teams like Edendork and Galbally have coped.”

Ardboe’s Kyle Coney comes under pressure to keep possession from Dungannon’s Gary Molloy. MC 2