Dungannon power into last four as Omagh Academy suffer a knockout blow

AN all-Tyrone semi-final in the Danske Bank Schools Subsidiary Shield failed to materialise on Saturday as Omagh Academy were defeated by Down High School, who will now meet Royal School Dungannon in the last four.

Dungannon tackled Enniskillen Royal Grammar School in their quarter-final clash at the weekend, and having raced into a commanding 12-40 lead thanks to two tries from man of the match, prop Jacob Clarke, whose namesake, team-mate and back also called Jacob Clarke, kicked five conversions, and further touchdowns from skipper James Girvan, Alex Kennedy, Adam Scott and John Carroll.

But the home side responded in the second half, reducing the Dungannon lead at regular intervals to leave just seven points between the sides with five minutes remaining.

The Tyrone lads, though, dug deep, and saw out the remaining time to book their last four berth where they will tackle Down High School who beat Omagh Academy 33-18 at home.

In what was Omagh’s third away tie in a row, they fought gamely and scored three good tries through Joshua Robinson, Conrad Hale and the influential Joshua Kyle, one of which was converted by Andrew Johnston, but it wasn’t to be on the day as Down took full advantage of their home turf.

Gareth McClintock’s RSD side, meanwhile, travelled to Enniskllen Royal Grammar School on Saturday morning, anticipating a nip and tuck battle from the off and initially that was what seemed to be unfolding

The home side opened the scoring in only the first minute with a converted try but the visitors responded in kind under the posts.

Dungannon then took the lead for the first time in the game, one they wouldn’t relinquish, with another converted score before Clarke crossed the whitewash and added the extras to make it 7-21.

Enniskillen reduced the deficit to nine points before the break but after the interval Dungannon, initially at least, sprinted away. Skipper James Girvan got the final touch on a superbly crafted team score at the start of the half before two more converted tries made it 12-40 to the visitors, who seemed home and dry at that stage.

But never discount your opponents in a knockout encounter, and Enniskillen proved they weren’t beaten yet as they ran in three converted tries in the next 15 minutes to leave Dungannon looking much less assured than they had been a quarter of an hour earlier. But the Tyrone men regrouped and saw out the final few minutes of an entertaining clash to reach the last four of the Shield.

Elsewhere, Omagh Academy’s Medallion also lost to Down High School, by 5-0, while the under-14s fell 27-10 to Cambridge House, with Lewis McIvor scoring a try, while Jack Adams converted and landed a penalty. The under-13s won their game comfortably, thanks to tries from David Lyttle (3), Ethan Duncan (2), Jake Fleming, Harrison Rennie, Sami Braden and Aaron Russell. Conversions from David Lyttle and Sami Braden.

CLUB NEWS

Clogher Valley’s scheduled Towns’ Cup clash at Lurgan was postponed on Saturday following a Covid case in the County Armagh club’s ranks.

That has now left the Tyrone men with a tough run of fixtures over the next few weeks.

On Wednesday evening they entertain Enniskillen in what they know will be a dog-eat-dog derby clash at the Cran and then on Saturday CIYMS visit for another must win Ulster Championship Division One encounter before they travel to Lurgan the following Wednesday for that rearranged cup fixture.

While delighted to have been able to give his All-Ireland Junior Cup winners an extra few days of rest before the derby clash with Enniskillen, head coach Stephen Bothwell knows that the short turnaround between such important games isn’t ideal, especially as any dropped points could be critical in their chase of league leaders Instonians.