Harper inspires Omagh to win

A SAM Harper-inspired Omagh Academy side earned a narrow two point win over Royal School Dungannon in Group D of the Danske Bank Schools Cup at the Armstrong Field.

The scrum half was in imperious form on the day, particularly during a first half when Omagh ran riot, scything through the Dungannon defence to engineer a 20-3 lead at the break.

Harper kicked a total of 16 points for his side on the day, while Matthew Brady and Innes Sherridan added tries apiece, which the scrumhalf converted to guide his side to victory.

And while the tables turned in the second half as the home side regrouped and responded, putting the Academy defence under sustained pressure as Jacob McNutt scored two tries and Ryan Willimson and Ben Lowey both dotted down, while Blake Redmond kicked the remainder of the points, Ross Hunter’s men held out for a deserved victory in the end, one which leaves them still in with a chance of progressing to the last-16 of the main event at the turn of the year.

However, in order for that to happen they will have to defeat the unbeaten Banbridge Academy side, who win 12-0 over Dalriada, who had already beaten Omagh 42-7.

“That was better,” Hunter beamed. “We were clinical and we managed the game really well in the first half.

“We got pitch position and if we got an opportunity for points, be that a penalty or a try scoring opportunity we took it in the first half. We were hanging on massively in the second half but thankfully the first half paved the way for the result.

“It was a massive result in terms of the guys confidence because we had only won one game up to this point so far this season, against Dungannon, and they did really, really well. I was happy with that.

“And Sam Harper managed the game really well, he was man of the match, kicked well from every opportunity with a 100 per cent record. He had a fantastic game.

“It leaves us in with a chance [of qualifying] but I’d have to say Dungannon was the game we were targeting for a win because Banbridge beat us reasonably well earlier in the season when we had a couple of men missing.

“But I think [the win over Dungannon] sets us up quite well for that last game [at home against Banbridge on December 7]. In the meantime we’ll keep trying to improve and we’ll keep working hard.”

While disappointed to have seen his side lose their second Group D game by the same margin as their first when losing 15-17 at home to Banbridge, RSD head coach Ali Ferguson felt his side played well but Omagh’s start meant they were fighting something of a losing battle.

“It was another narrow defeat. We were 20-3 down at half-time after a poor first half, but Omagh were very clinical and Sam Harper had a blinder, he managed the game really well and he kicked outstandingly,” he observed.

“We actually scored four tries and they scored two, but it comes down to how many points you score not how many tries and it was basically a carbon copy of the Banbridge game.

“In aspects of the first half, the boys played very well and they did in the second half, but it was conceding a few penalties meant the game got away from us. We fought back reasonably well in the second half and there are loads and loads of positives from our attacking play.

“It’s just they were more clinical on the day.”

With progress for the knockout stages of the Schools Cup proper now impossible, Ferguson will use their final group game as a ‘free hit’.

“It will be a tough one but we’re not going to qualify for the last-16 now so Dalriada is effectively a free hit for us as we prepare for the subsidiary competition after that,” he said.