Holders Omagh CBS claim nail-biting MacRory Cup victory

Omagh CBS 1-14  Our Lady’s Castleblayney 3-7

FOR large portions of this evening’s MacRory Cup quarter-final encounter at a chilly O’Neill’s Healy Park, it looked like Omagh CBS were dead certs to qualify for the last four with plenty to spare.

However their opponents Our Lady’s Castleblayney almost pulled off a sensational second-half comeback, scoring three second-half goals and leaving Omagh CBS supporters living on their nerves in the frantic closing stages.

It was nail-biting stuff but the defending MacRory Cup winners held on to set up a mouth-watering semi-final clash against 2022 champions St Mary’s Magherafelt in a fortnight’s time.

Omagh CBS looked the much stronger outfit in the opening exchanges, surging into a 1-3 lead when Ruairi McCullagh’s effort at a point somehow ended up in the back of the net in the tenth minute.

By the half-time whistle the Kevlin Road side led by 1-7 to 0-3 with every single score coming from play while Callum Daly and Charlie Donnelly made a number of important interceptions at the other end of the field.

The team in general looked massively comfortable and compounded their lead early in the second-half with further scores from McCullagh, whose shooting was top-notch throughout.

Our Lady’s grabbed a goal against the run of play from Bobby McCaul in the 40th minute while the Brothers kept the scoreboard ticking over from Paudi Dillon and McCullagh, who finished his days’s work with 1-6 from play.

They led by what looked like an unassailable 1-12 to 1-4 with a quarter of an hour remaining, but Castleblayney refused to throw in the white towel and set up a grandstand finish with goals from Max McGinnity and Lorcan Mone.

Omagh held on thanks to late points from Donnelly and McCullagh and will be relieved to have survived unscathed as they look ahead to their big battle against St Mary’s with a place in the final up for grabs.

The Scorers
Omagh CBS
Ruairi McCullagh (1-6), Paudi Dillon (0-3), Eoin Donaghy, Oisin Teague, Jack Law, Liam Og Mossey and Charlie Donnelly (0-1 each)

Our Lady’s Castleblayney
Max McGinnity (1-5, 0-3f), Bobby McCaul (1-2, 0-1m), Lorcan Mone (1-0)

The Teams
Omagh CBS
Oisin Watson, Blaine Lynch, Brian Gallagher, Sean McCann, Nathan Farry, Callum Daly, Mark Corcoran, Eoin Donaghy, Charlie Donnelly, Oisin Teague, Ruairi McCullagh, Jack Law, Niall McCarney, Paudi Dillon, Liam Og Mossey. Subs: Matthew Howe for Dillon, John Edgar for Farry, Farry for Lynch

Our Lady’s Castleblayney
Jamie Mooney, Stephen Hamillon, Tom Carey, Jack McDonnell, Matthew Ennis, Tiernan McGeough, Evan Treanor, Charlie McQuillan, Canice Murphy, Mattie Duffy, Tadgh Hegarty, Max McGinnity, Conor Burns, Cathal McCooey, Bobby McCaul. Subs: Darragh McMahon for McCooey, Tristan Nugent for Duffy, Lorcan Mone for Burns
Referee: Paul Falloon (Down)