ALLIANZ CUMANN Na mBUNSCOL
BOYS’ INDOOR FOOTBALL HEAT 8: Omagh
Allianz Cumann na mBunscol Thír Eoghain held its eighth heat of the annual 5-a-side Boys’ Indoor Gaelic Football for Tyrone primary schools today in Omagh’s wonderful Station Centre. Five local schools entered teams for this qualifying heat meaning a round-robin series of games was the format deployed.
School teams from All Saints’ P.S. Tattysallagh; St. Joseph’s P.S. Drumquin; St. Teresa’s P.S. Loughmacrory; St. Patrick’s P.S. Newtownstewart, and St. Peter’s P.S. Plumbridge crossed swords, so to speak, as they got to play each other. This effectively meant each team got a minimum of four matches with the top two schools competing in a fifth match to determine the overall Heat winner. Anyhow, we shall leave that part for a little later.
Some tremendous tussles took place amongst the 5 teams, not least our opening game involving Newtownstewart v Tattysallagh that ended in a thrilling 3-3 draw. Fivemiletown gave Tattysallagh their fill of it before falling to a narrow 2-1 reverse. The attitude, aptitude and skill on show from all the lads would do your heart good to witness. The points tally accrued by each team was pretty close, but two teams stood above the others: St. Joseph’s P.S. Drumquin and St. Teresa’s P.S. Loughmacrory. Indeed, when these teams met in their league encounter it was by the narrowest of 2-1 wins that the St. Teresa lads narrowly etched-out a win. These two would renew rivalries in the heat final.
A cagey start saw each team trying to settle their nerves. There then followed a Loughmacrory opener. This stung the Drumquin boys into seeking an equaliser. As they sought this, the St. Teresa’s men hit a decisive second to secure a 2-0 victory. Master Hanratty’s Drumquin team can be very proud of their tremendous efforts on the day. Meanwhile, a well-trodden Tyrone Indoor Football County Final spot awaits Master McCullagh and Master Gallagher’s Loughmacrory lads on Tuesday 12 March in Cookstown’s MUSA Indoor Arena.
We wish them well. Ádh mór oraibh.
Thanks to our referee Sean McCartan and to the friendly staff of Omagh Station Centre. Mickey Quinn (Allianz Cumann na mBunscol Thír Eoghain) ensured the smooth running of the day’s games.
Well done, everyone! Go raibh maith agaibh.
