Coalisland relieved to avoid the drop

IT’S fair to say that Coalisland took the roundabout way to ensuring their Division One status but they came good at the right time and manager Barry Tracey was so proud of his team after Sunday’s crunch play-off victory over the Moy.

Relegation would’ve been a disastrous outcome to their season, and there’s no shying away from that, but the ten-time Tyrone Senior champions kept their eyes on the prize and produced a spirited 2-10 to 1-7 victory over Sean Cavanagh’s Moy.

And there we had it – it hadn’t always been a straightforward season but Coalisland had done the needful and will play Division One football in 2024.

Tracey, co-manager with Stevie McNeice, commented: “For the first part of the season, there was a hangover from last year.

“It actually carried into this season, and no matter how much we tried to get new things and new ideas, that wee bit of belief took a while.

“But when Coalisland gets the belief, and when they’re backed into a corner, they’ll come out fighting, and they showed it today.”

He continued: “A lot of people gauge football about what cups you win. I gauge it about what people you meet and those connections you make, and to have that opportunity of working with Niall Kerr, Plunkett Kane, Louis O’Neil, Stevie McNally, Paddy McNeice, they’re legends in Tyrone football.

“And then you have the likes of Niall Devlin and Paudie Hampsey, Michael McKernan, Tiarnan Quinn and Ruairi McHugh coming through.

“But talent is not enough, you need to put the work in, and the lads have been a pleasure to work with and we kept the whole thing together in the last few weeks.”