A great day’s football was had by all the boys who attended the heat which was held in the Station Centre, Omagh on Wednesday 19th February. The schools attending were Knocknagor PS Trillick, Roscavey PS Beragh, Sacred Heart PS Tattyreagh, St Patrick’s PS Gortin and St Oliver Plunkett PS Beragh.
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 an amazing 68 goals scored over 11 matches, however that total would have been even higher if it was not for the outstanding performances of the goalkeepers present.
Knocknagor PS & Sacred Heart PS Tattyreagh got the action underway, with the Tattyreagh boys really setting down a marker for the rest of the heat, with Michael Mullan in defence really catching the eye. This was followed up with St. Oliver Plunkett’s who also gave notice that they would be a force to be reckoned with, getting the better of parish rivals Roscavey PS, despite the best efforts of Roscavey’s brilliant midfielder Micheal McCarron, who worked tirelessly throughout the game.
Round 2 began with Roscavey PS bouncing back from their Round 1 defeat to get the better of Knocknagor, on a 5-1 score line. Next up saw Tattyreagh and Gortin lock horns, and they really did produce an end-to-end classic – the 5-5 scoreline says it all!! The game ebbed and flowed, with Joe Teague influential at mid-field for Tattyreagh, whilst Daithi O’Neill was always a scoring threat for the Gortin boys.
Round 3 began with a real ding-dong with Gortin again involved, and inspired by Harry McCorkell in goals, taking on a gallant Roscavey team, for whom Frankie McNelis was outstanding. The 4-4 scoreline was a fair reflection on a truly exciting game. Next up saw Beragh tussle with Knocknagor. The Beragh lads had in Darragh Donnelly and Daithi Farley, 2 leaders who led from the front for St Oliver Plunkett’s during this encounter, leading their team to a narrow 3-2 win. Knocknagor did however have very solid performers in Jarleth McElholm and Oisin Brogan, who fought the fight to the very end.
Round 4 saw a 3-1 victory to Beragh over Gortin, with Tattyreagh also defeating Roscavey by the same scoreline. The winners of both these games would meet again down the line in Round 5, as well as ultimately in the final.
The final round of games saw a Noah Darcy inspired Tattyreagh get the better of a Beragh team who struggled to get their usual fluency up and running. The final Round 5 game saw Gortin finish their campaign strongly, defeating a gallant Knocknagor team on a scoreline of 7-3.
The final between Sacred Heart PS Tattyreagh and St Oliver Plunkett PS Beragh was a repeat of last year’s final and certainly lived up to its pre-match billing, with both teams giving superb individual and team performances in what was a pulsating encounter. As the game flowed from end to end, it was the boys from Beragh who started the stronger and got an early score. However, in true Tattyreagh spirit, the Sacred Heart boys fought back and made a real game of it. In the end, it was another Beragh goal late in the game which just edged out the result and to overcome the stubborn resistance of the 'Tatts,' on a scoreline of 2 goals to 0. We wish the Beragh boys 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 St Oliver Plunkett PS Beragh.
