Great start for Tyrone schools in MacRory Cup

With the change in the competition structure this season with just three teams in the group, it was always going to be important to hit the ground running. Diarmaid King registered the first score of the day for St Michael’s through a free off the ground but two quick-fire scores from Patrick McCann and Conor Owens edged the Omagh men ahead at the interval.

Conor McGillion extended the Omagh lead with a well taken free off the right boot after the restart but Diarmaid King levelled the sides with two frees, with 20 minutes on the clock.

As the Drumclay side began to grow in confidence, disaster struck in the space of six minutes when Omagh scored 3-1 without reply to all but wrap up the win.

The first of the goals came from a mix up in the St Michael’s defence. Centre half back Malachy O’Flanagan tried to switch the play across the field but the ball got caught in the breeze, fell into the path of midfielder Dara Hayes and he simply tapped the ball past the helpless Ross Bogue in the St Michael’s goal.

The second goal for Omagh was a touch of class. Ronan Strain angled a diagonal ball into the ‘21 yard line, McGillion won possession, selflessly slipped the ball across to Dara Hayes who chipped the ball to the back of the net

Straight after that, Omagh’s Seanie O’Donnell capitalised on another error in the Drumclay defence. The Trillick sharp-shooter forced a turnover, he drove at the St Michael’s rearguard, passed the ball out to his right to centre half back McGillian who fired high into the top right corner to stretch his side’s lead out to eight points.

Shell-shocked, St Michael’s struggled to maintain possession and Omagh took full control. McGillion tagged on another point off the left boot and a final goal from McCann pushed Omagh into an unassailable 13-point lead at half time.

Credit to St Michael’s, they did keep plugging away in the second half with Justin McDade scoring the first point of the second half off the right boot.

Omagh weren’t for stopping though, and Gavin Potter and McCann tagged on further points, with the latter firing to the net in the last play of the third quarter. The goal scorer started the move in his own half, kicking the ball in long to the lively McGillion on the edge of the square. McGillion won the ball, played it back to McCann and he shot low the bottom right corner for Omagh’s fifth and his second goal of the game.