McGinnity left with plenty to ponder after Trillick’s close shave

SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP QUARTER-FINAL

By Niall Gartland

THE width of a crossbar – that’s what spared Trillick’s blushes on Friday night as their Championship almost came to an abrupt end against Pomeroy.

It could well have been one of those Seamus Darby moments. Pomeroy were two points in arrears in stoppage time and they needed a goal, and fast. Surely Trillick would hang on against their would-be giant killers but there was time for one final act.

One of those teasing passes slipped through the Trillick defensive structure and into the clutches of Pomeroy’s Brendan Burns. The goal was at his mercy and there was only one thing for it…

The rest is a matter of record. His shot pinged back off the crossbar and that was more or less that. Trillick had hung out after a highly uncomfortable hour against the pluckiest of underdogs.

Speaking after the game, Trillick coach Peter McGInnity was clearly still grappling with what had unfolded under lights at O’Neill’s Healy Park.

“Relief! God…that ball that hit the crossbar, that was us nearly dead and buried!”

“We’re very disappointed with the way we performed – give Pomeroy credit as well, of course, but look, we’re just glad to be still standing.

“I just felt we didn’t perform, I’m not sure why. We were obviously missing a number of players, and have a couple of boys coming back after injury. Maybe that caught up on us a bit, but perhaps, psychologically, maybe we thought we were entitled to win?”

It wasn’t all doom and gloom. They won the game and that’s what counts, and there were some big plays across the hour. Nathan Farry’s late goal was vital, and McGinnity singled out another Trillick youngster for praise as well.

“And Charlie Donnelly won a breaking ball towards the very end that we got a score from. You know, there were those incidents, but from our point of view, there wasn’t enough of them. We gave them too much licence to hurt us, but look, we’re still in the Championship.”