By Shaun Casey

GETTING to play new teams offers new challenges and for Magheracloone manager Damian Feeney, he is embracing the freedom of Ulster. In Monaghan, the teams know each other inside out, but Ulster is an entirely different ballgame.

Sure, opposition managers will do their homework and analysis, as Feeney has spent the past two weeks doing on Arva, but when it comes to the provincial championship, things just become that wee bit looser.

Magheracloone were impressive winners the last day out against Lisnaskea as they began their Ulster campaign with a bang, but reigning All-Ireland Junior champions Arva will offer a much tougher test in Saturday’s semi-final.

“You come out of Monaghan, you play in any county games, everybody knows each other, so all your top marksmen are marked from the opposition, and vice-versa, it’s always going to be a battle to get out of your own county,” said Armagh native Feeney.

“In Ulster, maybe your top marksmen just aren’t marked as they would normally be, and it gives you that wee bit more freedom. You can go and expand your game a wee bit more.

“You can maybe try some things that you mightn’t have tried in your own county so in that respect, there’s definitely a bit more freedom.

“We said at the start of the year it would be great if we won Monaghan, and we’ve done that, so anything from here on out is a bonus. But whenever you’re this close you have to give it a go and try and push on that wee bit further.”

On their eye-catching 3-20 to 1-9 victory over Fermanagh champions Lisnaskea at Brewster Park the last day out, Feeney noted how well they played on the day, but warned that his side, who won the Ulster IFC back in 2019, know full well the step up in class they face this week.

“We were very happy with the Lisnaskea game,” he said. “It was one of those ones where we didn’t know much about our opposition, so we just decided to go out and let the shackles off and go and express ourselves and impose ourselves onto them.

“That’s what we did, and everything kind of clicked for us on the day. Lisnaskea didn’t have much of an answer for us that day, that’s not downgrading them, but we were excellent that day and I hope we can go out and do the same again on Saturday.

“Arva’s going to be a massive step up from the Lisnaskea game. I think it’s 22 games now since Arva were beaten in the championship, so they’re a really good side, really strong, physically very fit.

“They’ve got three or four good players, Ciarán Brady’s a standout player for them. We’re under no illusions of the test that is coming along and they’re definitely going to be a step up for us. What we did against Lisnaskea, we’re going to have to go again, and probably put in the same effort, if not more.”