By 
OMAGH Academy missed out on the chance to reach the semi-final of the Danske Bank Medallion Shield on Saturday morning when they fell to an 18-0 reverse to Wallace High School at Campsie Playing Fields.
Having overcome Rainey with a stirring second half performance in the last-16, the huge crowd in attendance was hoping for a repeat performance against Wallace, whom they trailed by just five points at the break.
Unfortunately, the Lisburn outfit were too well-drilled on the day and while they didn’t allow an off colour Omagh to find an avenue back into the game, they also took their chances when they arrived to run out comfortable winners on the day.
“They were a well-drilled team, with a superb lineout, while we just didn’t really get going,” Omagh Academy coach, Darren McGuigan, acknowledged.
“We played well in patches and kept the scoreline to 5-0 until the last 15 minutes when we just ran out of steam and they scored a couple more.
“Our lineout was poor, we didn’t really get in to spoil enough of their ball and we reacted quite late.
” And then they were a bit cute on ours, Our scrum was fine but some of our big men just didn’t turn up. Maybe the occasion got to them, but it’s one of those things.
“They had a very good eight and 13, who controlled the game. We matched them physically but they were a wee bit smarter at times.
“It came down to small margins but we hold our hands up, the best team won and the guys can hold their heads high because there are only two teams who have beaten us all year [Wallace twice and RBAI], so I think it’s the beginning for a lot of these guys.
“They have taken a lot of pride out of a lot of wins so it’s not the end for them. We now have to think what we do post-season, get a few of the guys into the gym, work on a few skills and I think there are a few guys who can go places in the coming years.”
Omagh Academy squad: Robbie Finlay, Travis Allen, Harvey Edgar, Henry Young, Ryan Elliott, Noah Todd, Frankie Oliver, Joshua Summerville (cpt), Charlie Harper, Oscar Reid, Thomas Hamilton, Charlie Wilson, Logan Crosbie (vc), Angus Callion, Evan Warnock. Replacements: Carl Crozier, Samuel Managh, Jonathon Hamilton, Ethan Wild, Harvey Roberts, Luke McClure, Andrew Beattie, Seth Rainey.
