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Donaghmore’s readiness to make a breakthrough and challenge Tyrone’s established powers is facing the ultimate test. After getting over a first round championship hurdle against Eglish they have been drawn to face Carrickmore, the county’s most successful club with 15 titles. It’s a daunting challenge for a club that will next year mark the centenary of its one and only senior championship triumph. However, young attacker Noah Grimes believes a crop of exceptionally talented young players can make the difference and lift the St Patrick’s to the next level. A team built around half-a-dozen players who were central to Tyrone’s three All-Ireland U20 successes in recent seasons carries immense potential. Grimes is one of those, proud not just of his two winner’s medals by also of the ‘man of the match’ award he collected following last year’s All-Ireland final. Conor Cush, Ben Hughes, Joey Clarke, Conor O’Neill, and Ronan Cassidy also starred in those Red Hand triumphs, and have brought that quality and form into club football. “We haven’t been able to push on as much as we would have liked, but now with us young boys coming through, that’s something we’re really targeting,” said Grimes. “But we’re just taking it a step at a time, we’ve won that first one.” Manager Feargal Logan now has a fully fit and available squad to pick from, and no fresh injury concerns have arisen from Sunday’s 11-point victory over Eglish. “We struggled with injuries throughout the year and with boys going to America, but anyone who was away is back and flying now,” said Grimes. “There’s nothing really holding us back at the minute, so hopefully the form continues. “Days like that can get you more experience for the younger lads, so we want to keep going the way we’re going.” The Donaghmore shooters had their eye in at Edendork, sweeping to a 0-24 to 1-10 success, but Grimes felt they should have racked up an even higher score-line. “We probably could have taken some more scores, we let a few chances get away from us, but that’s probably credit to Eglish’s defending, they were very good at scrambling back when we got a turnover. “But whenever you’re in the first round, you’re just trying to push on and get through to the next one, and we’re happy to have done that.” Much of Donaghmore’s attacking energy came from an aggressive press on the Eglish kick-out, rewarded in the form of possession dominance which was converted into scores by on-song inside men Conor Cush and Cormac McCann, who racked up 11 points between them. “That was a big point we were working on. During the league we probably weren’t as good on the break ball, but it was good to see that that has been turned around with the hunger to get under it. “Whenever there was five points in it it could have gone either way but we were able to knuckle down and get through it, so we’ll definitely take confidence from it.”