Ballinderry excited for 'ding-dong battle' in Derry Intermediate Football Championship final

Ballinderry enters ‘uncharted territory’ as they face off against Faughanvale for the Derry Intermediate Championship on Sunday.

The 12-time Derry senior championship winners are on the hunt for their first title at this level.

And the Shamrock’s manager, Jarlath Bell, is looking forward to the battle.

He said: “I don’t expect anything other than a ding-dong battle.

“We are expecting nothing less than a tough contest. I imagine there won’t be much in it.

“Once we got past Glenullin and into the Senior Championship for next season, everything has been bonus territory, with the pressure off a wee bit in that regard.

“We will give it our best shot, and if that is good enough, great, and if it isn't, then that is life, and it is the way it goes; we will have to wait and see how it goes. May the best team win.”

Ballinderry enters the final with a perfect record in the intermediate championship this season.

While this may have been expected by many neutrals looking upon the competition, the team themselves have taken nothing for granted.

Bell said: “It is a championship I didn’t really have a lot of experience with, but I have been unbelievably impressed by the standard of players and opposition we have played this year. It has been absolutely brilliant. 

“The standard of coaches in this competition is incredible too, so there is no surprise the standard is there.

“On two occasions Banagher ran us close, and we feel we left a few scores behind us, but again, you look at that Banagher team and you go through some of the players there; these lads are walking onto any team in Derry; there is no doubt about that. Tiernan Moore, Gavin O’Neill, Peter Hagan—these lads are all top-quality players.”

Their opponents, Faughanvale, have only suffered defeat once in the league this season, and for that, they will play in the Derry Senior Football League next year.

Their championship form was not as impressive, with the team slow to get going, but their victory over reigning intermediate championship holders Glenullin demonstrated the quality they had, with everything just clicking into gear.

Bell is wary of the challenge that Darrell O’Kane’s side poses.

He said: “Lavey were the only side that beat them in the entire league campaign, and it was a close run thing. This is a Lavey team that ran Glen close only a couple of weeks ago, so that gives you an indication of the standard and the level that Faughanvale are at, so there is no complacency from our point of view; we know what is ahead of us.

“You go onto the Faughanvale team, Kevin Martin, Paddy O'Kane, and Eoin McElhinney; these lads are amassing big scores between them, so we need to be at our best.

“We know the level of task that is ahead of us.”

Ballinderry are taking nothing for granted as the day's countdown to throw-in at Celtic Park at 1:30pm.

Bell and the club’s management team have taken the season one game at a time and will continue to do so as they focus on the final.

However, as they qualified for the senior championship next season after defeating Glenullin in the quarterfinal, they know a championship victory will give their young squad a massive confidence boost going into next season.

Bell said: “For ourselves, we have been really focused this year on small gains. As minimal as that might sound, that is the way it has been the entire year in terms of basic tackling, disciplined tackling, taking your opportunities when you get them—nothing fancy. I think modern-day football people know each other inside out; there is no stone left unturned.

“On Sunday, it will be the team that makes the fewest mistakes and the fewest unforced errors that usually gets over the line.

“We will give it our best shot, and if that is good enough, great, and if it isn't, then that is life, and it is the way it goes; we will have to wait and see how it goes. May the best team win.”