By Niall Gartland

DRUMHOWAN are tipping along nicely in this year’s Monaghan Junior Championship but the serious stuff starts now with this Saturday’s quarter-final clash against Oram (Aughnamullen 3pm).

Donal McAdam’s side finished top of their group with three wins and a draw but the safety net has been pulled from beneath all the remaining sides in what’s renowned as one of the more competitive junior grades in the province.

McAdam, in his second stint in charge of his native club, makes no secret of the fact that they’re targeting the title but recognises that others are similarly inclined.

“Monaghan teams tend to do well in the Ulster Club campaign at junior level. Look it, at the start of the year we set out to try and win the championship and we make no bones about that. That’s what we’re aiming for and we’ve managed to get this far. We have Oram on Saturday and that’s the next step, we have to keep the heads down and keep focused on what we’re trying to do.”

He continued: “There’s a lot of stiff competition. Tyholland have probably been the best team in the competition to date, they won all four of their matches. Blackhill are one of the big favourites and Scotstown could be a dark horse, they’re very strong at juvenile level with a lot of good players and could spring a surprise yet.”

Drumhowan have a strong tradition at junior level, winning outright in 2006, 2012 and 2014. Time will tell whether the new generation can continue in that vein.

“We’re going well albeit we got off to a disappointing enough start in the championship with a draw against Currin. We’ve picked up a bit of form and made it through to the quarter-finals. It’s knock-out from here on here, if you have a bad day it’s over and it’s really as simple as that,” he said.