Draw sets up sometasty derby ties

The Lurgan rivals were pulled from the hat on Monday night along with another local derby between Wolfe Tones and Clann Eireann. Shane, who was in charge of the Clans for a period, stressed his team couldn’t have been handed a tougher draw. “Our boys will relish the chance to play the Clans but to be honest we couldn’t have been given a tougher drawn.

“I know Clans manager Kevin O’Hagan, he was a competitor on the field and we will have to be fully determined to get into the next round. To be in with any chance of causing an upset we will have to be injury free and firing on all cylinders.”

Although St. Paul’s were relegated last year Shane believes his players will suffer no long term effects. “We lost our Division One status but the lads have recovered well, if we can bring the positives of the 2012 Championship campaign into the new season it will be a huge plus.”

Clann Eireann player manager Mark Beattie believes their draw against the Tones will focus his side from an early stage. Mark said, ”Intermediate Championship games don’t come any harder than this, every team likes a challenging draw, we have pulled a real cracker here. “I think there are lot of big games to look forward to this season and our game against the Tones is certainly one of them.”

In the Senior Championship Maghery have been drawn against Killeavey and Sarsfields open their account against Crosmaglen. At Intermediate level St. Peter’s play promoted side Derrynoose and Eire Og face Forkhill.