By Katrina Brennan

WILL it be a third time lucky for Aghadrumsee St Macartan’s this Sunday when they take on Newtownbutler in the 2024 Junior Championship Final?

Last year they got hockeyed by Lisnaskea, losing 6-10 to 0-9 and in 2022 they lost to Newtown by a goal, 1-14 to 2-8.

Aghadrumsee manager Jason O’Connor is urging his men to “remember the hurt from the last two years and leave the pitch with no regrets.”

Because last year’s final and the preparation is littered with regrets, admitted O’Connor. He was doing nets in last year’s decider as ‘Skea went for the jugular, netting six goals.

“Nobody let ourselves down, only ourselves,” he reflected. It was nothing to do with management, nothing to do with anybody else. It was players only – we were found out.

“As I said to the boys, we didn’t put in the work last year as a collective, it wasn’t any individual at all. It was as a collective, we didn’t put in the work that deserved to be winning a championship, let alone we shouldn’t have even got to a championship final, Coa should’ve had us out in the semi-final – we robbed them totally,” he admitted.

O’Connor has since hung up the boots and this season took over the reigns from the outgoing Mickey Cadden. The Clones native is engaged to Aghadrumsee woman Carol Durnian and got involved with the club three years ago, stepping in as the sub ‘keeper for the reserves.

After playing seniors last year, O’Connor is trying to mastermind Aghadrumsee’s first Junior Championship victory since 2018.

Many would be tipping 2022 champions Newtown’ to take the honours but O’Connor is quietly confident they can land the silverware for the first time in six years;

“I’d have the perception surely that that anybody outside of Aghadrumsee will be thinking that Newtown will probably walk the Championship but in our own circle, we know what we have and we know what we’re capable of so we’re just solely focussing on ourselves and not worrying what anybody else thinks to be honest.

“If we’re at it – which I fully expect us to be – I’d be expecting to win but I’m sure Newtown will probably say the same thing.”