Devine pleased with St Enda’s squad depth

OMAGH St Enda’s manager Owen Devine was impressed with how his side weathered the storm in the midst of an exciting second-half against Division One newcomers Gortin last Friday night.

The home side Gortin trailed at one juncture by 10 points, but a scoring spurt in the third quarter reduced the deficit to a mere two points and Omagh were staring down the barrel of a possible second successive defeat in the space of five days.

They regained control of the contest in the final 15 minutes to record a 0-18 to 0-13 victory, their first win of the new season and manager Owen Devine was keen to praise the efforts of his entire squad, not just the starting 15.

“Gortin threw the kitchen sink at us, they hit three two-pointers in-a-row which really narrowed our lead, but our lads showed good leadership to respond. Fair play to Gortin, they battled right to the end, and it’ll not be an easy place to go to for any team.”

“It’s all about getting points on the board at this early stage, and we knew we’d need an improved performance from our loss to Dungannon.

“It wasn’t perfect by any means but we definitely felt our intensity and leadership across the pitch was very good and that has to be the platform for us.”

Subs like Tiarnan Campbell and Jason McAnulla notched important late scores, and their manager says it all adds up to a welcome selection headache.

“We’re lucky we have a strong squad, and you saw the subs that came on and made a good impact.

“It’s good to see those boys getting their chance, it’s not easy picking a team of 15 when you’ve so many talented players working so hard.

Next in the pipeline for St Enda’s is a third-round clash with another freshly promoted team, Derrylaughan, this Friday evening in Healy Park. The Washing Bay side have lost their two outings to date but Devine won’t be taking them lightly.

“The challenge is there for us and if we perform we’re giving ourselves a chance to win and that’s the way we’ll be looking at it. Derrylaughan were Intermediate Championships, and they’re used to winning games, so it’ll be a massive battle and we’re looking forward to it.”