Corey’s insider info can give Naomh Conaill edge

THE fact that Naomh Conaill’s base in Glenties is over two hours from Coalisland’s complex adjacent to Lough Neagh means their Tyrone opponents are a largely unknown force to the men from the west coast of Donegal.

But Naomh Conaill’s trump card is their manager Cathal Corey, a Tyrone native who has a direct insight into the capabilities of Damien O’Hagan’s Coalisland charges.

That’s been hugely beneficial as they have intensified their preparations for tomorrow’s Ulster Club SFC semi-final in Enniskillen.

“My own club in Tyrone is Kildress who were knocked out this year by Coalisland at the semi-final stage,” says Corey. “I was at that game and saw first hand what Coalisland are capable of. I’ve them over the years and they’re a club with a good youth structure that is now paying dividends.

“They beat all the big teams in Tyrone like Errigal Ciarán, Clonoe and Carrickmore. I watched them last weekend against Dromore in the league semi-final and while they were short three or four players, they still came out on top. They’re going to be a serious test for our boys.”

Naomh Conaill will not be travelling to Brewster Park short of optimism.

Corey worked alongside Jim McGuinness last year as they guided the team to the Donegal decider only to succumb to St Eunan’s.

With McGuinness moving onto operations at county U21 and senior level this year, Corey has been in charge on his own and the team have displayed impressive progress.

“We were very happy with our county final victory but it was heartening afterwards to see that the players came to the decision that they didn’t want any regrets when it came to Ulster.

“Training was stepped up after that. The first game in Ulster against Kingscourt was a big test as it was a long journey, almost three hours and 40 minutes, down to Cavan.

“But we had huge support who travelled down and they made their voices heard which was a big plus for the team and of huge assistance to us in gaining the victory. That win was the best preparation for us in getting up to the pace of Ulster football for the quarter-final against Clontibret of Monaghan. They’ve been unlucky over the last few years that they’ve met the likes of Crossmaglen and St Gall’s after winning county titles.

“But we knew we’d a great chance of getting to a semi-final and there was great support for us at home. We got the shooting boots on in the second-half and did the business.”

Naomh Conaill have left no stone unturned before this clash and travelled to Enniskillen last Sunday to familiarise themselves with tomorrow’s venue.

“We had a 35-minute in-house game on Brewster Park on Sunday to familiarise ourselves with the ground and our free-takers got in some shooting practice and the also practiced taking penalties. It proved a very useful exercise.

“The boys do everything very professionally and no one had a problem last Sunday getting on a bus and heading to Enniskillen for a session.”