Colleagues in opposition as Glenravel face Glenullin

Ulster Intermediate Club Football Championship quarter-final

Glenullin (Derry) v Con Magee’s (Antrim) 12-45 Celtic Park

PortadownFC team mates, Eoin Bradley and Eamon Fyfe will find themselves in opposition this weekend when their respective Gaelic clubs, Glenullin and Glenravel meet on Sunday at Celtic Park, Derry, in the quarter-final of the Ulster Intermediate club football championship.

Bradley has had an illustrious career in both codes and represented his county, Derry with distinction before trying his hand at soccer where he has been equally successful.

He played for Coleraine in the Irish League before moving to Glenavon and later returned to the Coleraine show-grounds where he was joined recently by Glenravel’s star forward Eamon Fyfe.

***Portadown FC colleagues Eamon Fyfe and Eoin Bradley*** – ***Pics by Pacemaker Press***

They then moved to Portadown and have been receiving rave reviews, Fyfe scoring the winning goal against Crusaders mid week in the League Cup.

The friendship between the two will be put on hold this Sunday at Celtic Park as Glenullin and Glenravel go head to head in the Ulster club championship.

Glenravel beat close rivals All Saints Ballymena, a team managed by Bradley’s father, Liam ‘Baker’ Bradley, in this year’s OB Construction Intermediate Football Championship final at Kelly Park Portglenone to cap a fantastic season, having already won the Division 2 league title earlier in the year.

Last year’s beaten finalists put last year’s loss to Dunloy behind them as they defeated Sarsfield’s in a repeat of last year’s semi-final in Toome before overcoming the challenge of the Ballymena side in the decider.

Pics by Dylan McIlwaine

They are a strong side, backboned by the Hynds brothers, Cathal and Eoin with Cathal making his Antrim debut this year and establishing himself as a regular at mid-field for the county as the season came to a conclusion.

Jonathan Fyfe is an excellent keeper and in front of him Sean Higgins, Ryan Lennon and Niall Swann back-bone a strong defence who give little away.

The Hynds brother featured at mid-field in the Antrim final and are likely to start there again on Sunday while Cormac McKeown, team captain David Higgins, Ryan McQuillan and Eamon Fyfe are all potential match winners in attack.

Under the guidance of former Bellaghy and Derry player, Joe Cassidy the Con Magee’s have become a formidable outfit, winning 13 of their 16 league starts to claim the division 2 title and avenging those defeats away to Aldergrove and Glenavy in the corresponding return fixture.

What of Glenullin?

Glenullin come into Sunday’s showdown with Glenravel as back to back winners in Derry.

They trailed by five points in the Derry decider against Banagher but came back with two late points from Eoin Bradley before a late Neil McNicholl goal forced the game into extra time.

They went on to win the game in extra time to claim their first ever back to back titles and set up another tilt at Ulster.

They have a habit of pulling results from the fire. It was a late, late Daniel O’Kane point that saw them win the intermediate title last year after Drumsurn had dominated for long periods.

Manager Paddy Bradley, a former Derry legend, is a brother of Eoin ‘Skinner’ Bradley and son of All Saints manager Liam, has a strong squad at his disposal. Ryan McNicholl is back after injury with Diarmuid McNicholl – son of 1985 winning captain Dermot – in the defence.

From a Glenullin point of view, they’ll be hoping their midfield duo of Neil McNicholl and Tarlach Bradley can win the battle in that sector and that could go some way in deciding the eventual winners.

Eoin Bradley, Fearghal Close and Ryan McNicholl will take some watching in attack if Glenravel are to advance and there might not be too much in it in the end but Glenullin will start as favourites.