Drumragh earn due reward for all their hard work- Woods

IT HAS been a long time coming but Drumragh’s wait for a return to Intermediate football is finally over after a dramatic playoff victory over Killeeshil in Galbally last weekend.

Trailing by six points it looked as though they were going to come up short again as was the case in the recent Championship Final against Fintona but they found an inner belief to stage a brilliant fightback.

With the game destined for extra time they found an unlikely hero with full back Barry Fitzgerald landing the winning point with the last kick of the game to secure a return to the second tier of Tyrone club football for the first time since 2006.

Fiachra Woods, part of the Sarsfields management set-up under Colm Bradley, couldn’t hide his delight after the final whistle.

“The way the boys have reacted this last four or five weeks has been unreal,” he said.

“If you go back to the league we lost out to a late penalty against Cookstown, we battled Glenelly all the way and Fintona all the way and the results just didn’t go our way. In the playoffs we have beaten Drumquin and Aghaloo and now Killeeshil.”

After suffering the heartache of that Championship Final loss by the narrowest of margins it would have been understandable if the Drumragh squad threw in the towel on the season. However they regrouped superbly for the three game playoff series and earned their due reward at the weekend. Woods felt that promotion was fully warranted.

“ People may have questioned our boys all year but every shift that they have put in has been unreal and they have got their just rewards. It’s not about the management it’s about those players who have been fighting to get to Intermediate football this last four or five years and just came up short but they’ve done it now.”

The signs didn’t look good for Drumragh at the break last Sunday against Killeeshil but Woods insisted that they were never going to bow out with a whimper.

“ We were five points down at half-time and we just said to the lads that we had an opportunity to go to Intermediate football and we haven’t been doing ourselves justice. Bazza mightn’t be a prolific scorer but he got the one that mattered and we will take that any day.”

A week ago Drumragh’s bench provided 0-7 in their extra time win over Aghaloo and again against Killeeshil they more than played their part with a telling two goals and a point when it mattered most.

“ All year we have used five subs in every game and they always make an impact and that was the case there again,” continued Fiachra.

“ If someone had said to you weeks ago that we would be coming to try and get to Intermediate football without the calibre of those men starting you would have laughed but they have more than done their bit, the whole squad of players have been outstanding.

“ It boils down to heart, desire and having the legs. Those boys out there would do anything for Drumragh and it showed with the passion they demonstrated in the last ten minutes.

“ The last time that we were in Intermediate football in 2006 we lost a relegation playoff against Eskra and there are a few of us in the management team who were involved that day so it has been a long time coming. It hasn’t been easy, we have been fighting for almost twenty years to get out of Junior football and I’m just so glad that we done it, it’s brilliant.”