By 
ACL DIVISION 1/2 PLAYOFF
Coalisland 1-17 Pomeroy 0-16 (aet)
A DRAINING playoff encounter at rain swept Stewartstown on Saturday went right down to the wire with a goal in the last minute of extra-time by sub Ruairi Campbell eventually securing Coalisland’s promotion back to senior football.
With the Fianna trailing by a point Campbell swooped to stab home the loose ball on the edge of the small square in the 79th minute after Pomeroy keeper John McCourt failed to collect a long range effort from Michael McKernan which dropped in around the house.
Buoyed by this strike Coalisland tagged on further injury time scores courtesy of lively replacement Sean L Corr and captain Tiarnan Quinn to seal their passage back to the top flight after a twelve month hiatus down a rung of the ladder.
Unfortunately for Pomeroy they make the trip in the opposite direction as they relinquish their senior status, which was a cruel outcome for the likes of Frank Burns, Lorcan Kilpatrick and Ronan Duffin who produced stoic efforts across the duration of this titanic struggle.
They clearly missed the presence of Tyrone All-Star Kieran McGeary who is away travelling for a few months, whereas in contrast Coalisland were able to introduce one of their county men, Michael McKernan off the bench in the second half following his recent surgery on a shoulder injury.
And he was to make a significant impact too floating over a superb two pointer deep into injury time in the second half when the Fianna were trailing by three, while he also slipped one over in extra-time.
His Tyrone team-mates Padraig Hampsey and Niall Devlin also played instrumental roles in the Coalisland turnaround (they trailed 0-11 to 0-5 in the 54th minute), while Peter Herron and Ruairi McHugh were others who battled gamely for the Blues.
Skipper Tiarnan Quinn stuck over an early Coalisland free, but Pomeroy, with the blustery elements in their favour, soon jumped ahead, midfielder Ryan Loughran banging over a couple of two pointers with real conviction.
The Fianna were shading the possession stakes, though despite scores from Bailey Leonard and Cormac O’Hagan they were also guilty of dropping a few other efforts short.
The Plunketts made them pay in the run up to the interval as they opened up a significant gap on the scoreboard, captain Duffin spearheading their onslaught.
He knocked over a two point free, and quickly followed up with a spectacular orange flag strike from open play.
A Fianna 3-man breach enabled Duffin to tag over another free in front of the posts, and with Peter McGoldrick swooping on a poor Coalisland kick out to split the posts, Pomeroy led 0-10 to 0-3 at half-time.
A booming two pointer by Ruairi McHugh within fifteen seconds of the resumption suggested a Fianna fightback was looming, but instead their attacking play became increasingly ragged with numerous opportunities going abegging.
At the other end Frank Burns steamrollered through to drill over a score putting the Plunketts six clear, with time seemingly running out on Coalisland after a stop-start second period.
Sub Sean L Corr ended their scoring drought with a 54th minute free, and as the heavens opened Peter Herron cut in purposefully to fist over. Corr then curled over a two point free to leave two between the sides (0-11 to 0-9) entering six minutes of injury time.
Duffin’s free handed Pomeroy further breathing space, but that wonderful two pointer by McKernan reduced the gap to the minimum and in the 66th minute Herron sliced through to hit the leveller (0-12 apiece).
Niall Devlin and Peter McGoldrick traded scores when action resumed, but another Duffin free handed the Plunketts a narrow advantage at the short whistle in extra-time.
Back came the Fianna courtesy of Tiarnan Quinn (free) and McKernan to jump ahead, but their lead was short lived as sub Ryan McCallan landed a two point free at the other end.
The prospect of a penalty kick shootout was starting to loom into sight but that devastating late 1-2 scoring spree ensured that the day belonged to the Blues.
Scorers
Coalisland: Sean L Corr (0-4,1tpf,1f), Tiarnan Quinn (0-3,2f), Michael McKernan (0-3,1tp), Ruairi Campbell (1-0), Peter Herron (0-2), Niall Devlin (0-2,tp), Bailey Leonard, Ruairi McHugh, Cormac O’Hagan (0-1 each)
Pomeroy: Ronan Duffin (0-7,1tp,1tpf,3f), Ryan Loughran (0-4,2tps), Peter McGoldrick (0-2), Ryan McCallan (0-2,tpf), Frank Burns (0-1)
Teams
Coalisland: Dylan Woods, Oisin McHugh, Padraig Hampsey, Louis O’Neill, Bailey Leonard, Brian Hampsey, Mark Hamilton, Ruairi McHugh, Niall Devlin, Peter Herron, Cormac O’Hagan, Donal Sheeran, Cathaoir Quinn, Fionn McHugh, Tiarnan Quinn. Subs used: Sean L Corr for F McHugh (38mins), Michael McKernan for D Sheeran (44), Ruairi Campbell for C Quinn (48), Eoin O’Neill for L O’Neill (70)
Pomeroy: John McCourt, Micky McDonald, Brendan Burns, Ryan Begley, Jude Campbell, Lorcan Kilpatrick, Hugh J Cunningham, Ryan Loughran, Frank Burns, Kezzy Armstrong, Peter Rafferty, Ronan Duffin, Peter McGoldrick, Gavin Goodfellow, Marty Coyle. Subs used: Leo Quinn for M McDonald (38mins), Packie Quinn for K Armstrong (46), Ryan McCallan for M Coyle (51), Hugh McNamee for G Goodfellow (54)
Referee: Martin McErlane (Clonoe)