Cavan six hit kills off Omagh hurlers hopes

East Cavan Gaels 6-10 Omagh St Endas1-14

OMAGH’S hopes of getting their Ulster Junior Hurling Championship campaign off to a positive start were shattered by a goal-hungry East Cavan Gaels in Breffni Park on Saturday.

Conceding three goals in either half left the Tyrone champions with a mountain to climb, but the final scoreline failed to reflect what was a spirited performance by the Omagh men who were well in contention until the final quarter.

After their emphatic win over Naomh Colum Cille in the Tyrone final, Omagh were in buoyant form going into this game. But unlike their stylish and assured display in Healy Park a few weeks ago, their first touch and cohesive form deserted them on Saturday when they struggled to build momentum against a fired up East Cavan team.

While the newly crowned Cavan champions fully deserved their victory, they only breathed comfortably in the closing stages of the game when they smashed home 3-2 in the final 14 minutes to put the game beyond reach.

After both teams traded a point apiece inside the first two minutes, with Mark Corry getting Omagh off the mark with a monster free, the Cavan men struck for the first of six goals in the fifth minute when the stylish Liam O’Brien rifled to the net after an initial shot was well blocked by Ryan Woods in the Omagh goals.

The home team again struck for goals in the 19th and 25th minute, but to their credit, Omagh responded positively each time with points from Eunan Campbell (0-2), Paul McKernaghan, Tom McClements, Ciaran Lagan (two frees and a 65), Damien Woodhead, and midfielder Oisin McGuigan helping them stay well in the hunt by half time when the score stood 3-4 to 0-11.

Shortly after the restart, Lagan pointed a free and then seared through the home defence to lay off to Tom McClements in the 36th minute, but his shot at goal was turned out for a 65. Cormac Taggart also had a great effort for goal saved but Omagh finally got their break on the 39th minute when the industrious Fionn Corry picked up a brilliant pass from McClements to turn his marker and rifle to the net for a superb goal.

That left the sides level at 1-12 to 3-6, but rather than pressing on, Omagh lost their momentum and conceded 2-3 in the subsequent ten minutes to dent their hopes.

They could only find the range twice in the remainder of the game with Campbell and Fionn Corry on target and despite the introduction of player-manager Paul O’Grady who injected some energy into the Omagh attack in the closing ten minutes, they struggled to make headway against a physically strong home team who sealed the day with a sixth goal two minutes from the end.

The Scorers
Omagh: Fionn Corry (1-1), Ciaran Lagan (0-4, 3f, 65), Eunan Campbell (0-3, 1f), Mark Corry (0-2, 2f), Paul McKernaghan (0-1), Oisin McGuigan (0-1), Damien Woodhead (0-1), Tom McClements (0-1).

East Cavan Gaels: Nicholas Kenny (1-5 2f), Liam O’Brien (1-1), Rory Farrell (1-1), Daire Leddy (1-0), James Tully (1-0), Cian McEntee (1-0), Jack McGuinness (0-1), Canie Maher (0-1,1f), Kyle McGuinness (0-1).

The Teams
Omagh: Ryan Woods, Liam Flanagan, Cain McGuigan, Ruari Winters, Paul McKernaghan, Ciaran Lagan, Aidan Gormley, Fionn Corry, Oisin McGuigan, Cormac Taggart, Mark Corry, Byron O’Neill, Tom McClements, Damien Woodhead, Eunan Campbell. Subs – Oisin O’Neill for Damien Woodhead, Jakub Krawczyk for Liam Flanagan, Paul O’Grady for Byron O’Neill, Ben McGavigan for Aidan Gormley.

East Cavan Gaels: Conor Gallagher, Gary Leddy, Tadhg Barry, Philip Duffy, Colin Gargan, Jack Barry, Jack McGuinness, Canice Maher, Conor Walsh, Callum Shiel, Liam O’Brien, Daire Leddy, Rory Farrell, Nicholas Kenny, James Tully. Subs – Philip McKeon for Philip Duffy, Cian McEntee for Callum Shiel, Kyle McGuinness for James Tully.