Fintona celebrating after historic Junior title

FINTONA Pearses are celebrating after clinching the Tyrone Junior title for the first time in 48 years thanks to a narrow 1-10 to 0-12 victory over Drumragh.

It was tense and very exciting at Healy Park was both teams served up an enthralling encounter that reached its dramatic finale right at the end. Aaron McCarney’s point gave Fintona the lead, as Drumragh missed a difficult opportunity for the equaliser.

Now Fintona will go forward to Division Two of the All-County League next year. But first they’ve got the Ulster Junior championship to look forward to, and it’s one that they’ll be targeting big time once the celebrations are concluded.

For full-forward, Conor McGillion, the win over Drumragh was the ‘best moment of his life.’ The teams were level on nine occasions, and the number 14 played his part as Fintona edged it right at the end.

“Every emotion is going through my head at the moment. This is something which I didn’t think I’d see so soon,” he said.

“But we’ve stuck at this, and fair play to the players and the management. It’s the best day of my life.

“The game was very close all the way through and maybe Drumragh were the better side at times. In fairness, we knew what they were going to bring. It’s extra special for us and we came good at the right time.

“We’ve lost only one game this year by a point in the league to Cookstown. So, this win was one we were looking for.”