SARSFIELD’S Terry O’Neill believes his side have been handed the toughest possible Intermediate quarter-final tie as they host neighbours St Paul’s for a place in the semi-final (Saturday, 3pm, Bear Pit).

The men from the Bear Pit concluded their round robin games with a comfortable 3-17 to 0-8 win over Ardoyne which saw them top Group One and progress to the quarter-finals.

Whilst his main concern is about picking up wins, O’Neill admits he was delighted with his side’s display against Ardoyne but isn’t getting carried away by one result.

“We put a very good performance in against Ardoyne,” he noted.

“They are a very good team, they got top six this year alongside St Paul’s, which to do in Division Two is a very difficult task, so it was good that we beat them to keep that consistency going.

“We are on a good run; it was more about the win but, it was good that we played so well.

“Ardoyne had changed their set up slightly as they needed to beat us, so they had to open up which isn’t normally their way. As pleasing as it was, we know it was just a one-off game and we need a totally different gameplan and set up in the knockout rounds. We need to bring that level of performance against St Paul’s to beat them.”

O’Neill is well aware that the difficult games keep on coming, but is hoping the momentum generated by recent results can stand them in good stead.

“We have hit a bit of form now; we had a hard start to the season, but we’ve gained a bit of momentum,” he continued.

“The plan was always to get out of the group, topping it was a bonus, but were under no illusion, as to how difficult the game with St Paul’s will be.

“They beat us in the league quite comfortably and it’s a derby. As pleased as we are that we topped the group I do believe we’ve the hardest possible game next.”

Sarsfield’s preparation will only began this week with many of their players also representing the club in the hurling championship, which O’Neill says has represented a different sort of challenge.

“We know how difficult it’s going to be against St Paul’s, and unlike them, we are still going in the hurling, and we have a lot of dual players.

“We will need to this week reassess if anyone is injured or carrying niggles, so it is difficult to plan at the minute. We are trying to get the balance right of keeping the lads alright fitness wise but not burning them out, and that is a tough thing to do.”

He did concede that for Sarsfield’s to go all the way in the Championship they need to face and defeat the best teams. He therefore believes that finally getting a victory over their near rivals will breed confidence ahead of the semi-final stage.

“I think the winners of our quarter-final face Ballymena or Glenravel, who are probably the two favourites to win it alongside Aldergrove,” he added.

“You would need to go into that game confident if you were to beat St Paul’s but again it would be great to just build momentum, get that victory under your belt and move on to the next one with increased confidence.”

Meanwhile, St Paul’s joint-manager Séamus Ó Tuama was full of praise for his young side in bouncing back from a defeat against St Teresa’s to beat Aldergrove and seal their progress.

“I’m more relieved than happy to get to the quarter finals after a poor showing against St Teresa’s,” he said.

“The Aldergrove result was very satisfying and a great game for many of our young players to be involved in.

“They showed great resilience, not only in recovering from the St Teresa’s defeat but also from a rocky start against Aldergrove at home, where many had written us off.

“It was a great experience for so many lads just out of minor and U20 football. It also showed that there’s still a bit of road to cover for them in their footballing journey, but they are well on their way.”

Ó Tuama was quick to shoot down the notion that St Paul’s go into the game as favourites after beating Sarsfield’s earlier in the league season, and instead believes their neighbours are a forced to be reckoned with.

“The league means nothing,” he stressed.

“The Sarsfield’s team in this year’s League is nothing like the Sarsfield’s team of this year’s Championship. They have many returning leaders to their ranks including my past pupils at Coláiste Feirste; Niall McKenna, Gary Lennon and Niall McAlea, who are great leaders and footballers as well of course as the McKernans and some great youth coming through.

“They’ve really found a groove under the guidance of Terry O’Neill, who of course has more county titles than a Kerry footballer has All-Irelands!

“We on the other hand have been bringing youth through over the past few seasons, which was ultimately been our remit from the club since the late Anto Finnegan along with Donagh Finnegan put together a review of football within the club.

“We have about four players left from the initial squad we inherited and have been bringing youth through via a very good development structure at reserve level, which we set up as a player pathway within the club for the many players to come through from minor in the next few years.

“We have had a turnover of 17 players from our last Championship game last year and that speaks volumes about how well the group has played this year. Sixteen victories and finishing top four in Division Two has been great from a developmental perspective, given the amount of player turnover over the past few years.

“Unfortunately, we will be missing six key players this Saturday, but this will give others an opportunity. So, in terms of the league, it has no relevance whatsoever.”

He also expects a certain edge to the game given the rivalry between the two sides but hopes that will only bring out the best in his players.

“No matter when and where you play Sarsfield’s it always has that feel to it,” he agrees.

“If it’s tiddlywinks or scrabble, never mind football or hurling, there would be a lot of pride at stake.

“In terms of what is on the line, it’s nothing more than an opportunity for us as a squad to test ourselves under challenging circumstances given the players we have away and the youth we are bringing through.

“It will be a huge challenge but again, an opportunity to pit ourselves against a team in Sarsfield’s, that I had earmarked, along with Glenravel as dark horses for the Intermediate Championship at the start of the year. Anyone who beats Sarsfield’s this year won’t be far off it.”