The second last of the CnmB Tir Eoghain Indoor Gaelic Football 5 a-side (Boys) heats was held in the Station Centre, Omagh on Wednesday 1st March. Section 1: Roscavey PS, St Oliver Plunkett PS, Beragh, Drumduff PS & Sacred Heart PS, Tattyreagh. Section2: St Patrick’s PS, Gortin, Holy Family PS, Omagh & Knocknagor PS.
Matches lasted 5 mins and an exciting feature of the ‘indoor game’ is that the ball was always in play. All-out attack was the order of the day with 42 goals scored in 12 matches, however that total would have been much higher if it was not for the outstanding performances of the goalkeepers present.
St Patricks Gortin & Holy Family Omagh got the action underway, with the Omagh boys edging ahead with a 2-0 victory. This was followed up with St. Oliver Plunkett’s, inspired by Cormac Dillon, laying a marker as one team to watch, getting the better of their Parish neighbours Roscavey, despite the best efforts of their brilliant keeper Donnachadh Daffy, who pulled off a string of saves.
Sacred Heart PS Tattyreagh and Drumduff completed the first-round games and showed that there was going to be nothing easy in this group, playing out a very entertaining 0-0 draw.
Round 2 began with Cahir Conway and Daire O’Kane shining for St Patrick’s PS Gortin winning against Knocknagor PS, on a 3-1 score line. Next up saw rivals Beragh and Tattyreagh lock horns, with both having gained points from the previous round. However, it was the Sacred Heart boys who came out on top of this fascinating battle, with 2 goals to no score enough to see them over the line.
Round 2 ended with another Beragh Parish derby, this time with Drumduff PS getting the better of Roscavey PS, for whom Shea McSorley tried his absolute best up and down the pitch. 4-0 however was the final score line.
Round 3: Holy Family PS, inspired by Conor Rice in mid-field and Francis Tierney in defence, led their team to a comprehensive victory over Knocknagor, who had impressive players in Billy McElholm and Oisin Keenan, two lads who fought hard to the very end. Next up was St Oliver Plunkett PS and Drumduff PS. There was a lot riding on this game, with the winner going through to the semi-finals. Donnacha Harley led from the front for St Oliver Plunkett’s during this encounter, leading his team to a 4-0 win. Drumduff however did have very solid performances from Dara Conway & Shea Loughran.
In the final Round 3 game, Brendan McKenna and Gerry Teague of Sacred Heart PS showed a great range of skills and kept Roscavey PS at bay with a 4-0 win.
The first semi-final saw an undefeated Sacred Heart PS Tattyreagh take on St Patrick’s PS, Gortin. In what was an end-to-end game, Tattyreagh, greatly assisted by goalkeeper Daniel Norris who was able to find his man with every kickout, had a 2-0 victory, ending the Gortin team’s involvement in the heat.
In what was arguably the game of the day, the second semi-final saw Holy Family PS overcome St Oliver Plunkett PS. In a game which was very competitive from the throw-in, both teams threw caution to the wind and really went for it. The Beragh boys built up a 3-1 lead at one stage and looked to be heading for victory, until the Omagh boys dug deep late in the game and scored 3 goals in quick succession, getting them over the line on a 4-3 score line.
The final between Sacred Heart Tattyreagh and Holy Family Omagh lived up to its pre-match billing, with both teams giving superb individual and team performances. In what was another fantastic end to end encounter, it was the boys from Tattyreagh who just edged out the result to overcome the stubborn resistance of the Omagh team 3 goals to 2. Undoubtedly, the best team won this heat, and we wish them well in the next stage of the competition.
Thanks to Brian McGinn who was a very impartial referee for all games, however I’m sure that he would agree that his day was made easy due the fact that not a single player or teacher as much as contested a decision throughout the day. Well done to all players involved, especially the victorious Sacred Heart PS Tattyreagh.
@AllianzIreland
