Milestone victory for Omagh Juvenile hurlers

Omagh St. Enda’s 4-13   Naomh Columcille 1-11

OMAGH St Enda’s U16 captain Jayden Lloyd lifted the Tyrone Grade 1 Hurling Championship trophy on Monday evening in Garvaghey, as his side triumphed over a talented Naomh Columcille team to bridge a thirty two year gap since St Enda’s last won the Juvenile title.

Both teams made light of the wet conditions as they pressed hard to get the opening score. An Omagh attack in the second minute saw the ball played across the Naomh Columcille square to the waiting Matt Gallagher, who with goal on his mind doubled first time and fired the ball over the bar to get the opening score of the game.

Conor O’Reilly quickly added another,  before Naomh Colum Cille responded with a well-taken free from the impressive Fionn Daly.

A goal from Matt Gallagher extended Omagh’s advantage, though Daly kept the Cilles in contention with another accurate free. Omagh’s defence, led by the inspirational Jayden Lloyd, ably supported by Micheál McMahon and Sean Kearney at halfback, coupled with the tireless endeavors of the midfield duo of Tristan Earley and Seth McGirr provided plenty of ammunition to the lively Omagh forward line with Daithi McGinn and Pearse Clarke to the fore in the opening exchanges.

The trojan defensive efforts from Micheal Kirwan, Pauric Morgan and Arijus Abaracvicius in the heart of the Naomh Columcille defence stymied many of St Enda’s opening salvos until Omagh half forward Daithi Teague collected the ball thirty metres from goal and carved through the defence  to finish superbly to the net.

Gallagher continued to wreak havoc in the NCC rearguard and bagged his second goal which was followed by well taken points from James McGarvey and Pearse Clarke.

A 25th minute free from the trusty caman of  Conor O’Reilly gave Omagh a seemingly comfortable cushion as the first half was drawing to a close. However, in true tradition Naomh Columcille rallied late in the half with points from Daly, Kylan Preece, and the influential Odhrán Coleman to close the gap.

In injury time, Reece Fee punished a poor Omagh clearance when he cut in from the stand side and delivered an unstoppable shot to the Omagh net, sending the Cilles support into raptures.

With only two points separating the sides and the momentum with Naomh Columcille it was the Omagh side who welcomed the half time whistle to go in with a lead of  Omagh 3-05, Naomh Columcille 1-08.

On the resumption of play, early points from O’Reilly and Gallagher extended Omagh’s lead to five, but Daniel Kane and Daly responded quickly for the Cilles to keep the pressure on. A wave of Naomh Colum Cille attacks was met with resolute defending from Omagh’s full back line of Seán Cunningham, Thomas Logue, and Conall McCaffrey with Cunningham making an outstanding diving block to thwart a goalbound shot.

As the siege on the Omagh goal continued and the momentum once again in the East Tyrone sides favour,  St Enda’s goalkeeper Ronan O’Neill produced a moment of brilliance with an exceptional save to deny a certain goal. The Omagh management introduced the energetic Jamie McCrossan to regain control in the middle sector.

The substitution paid off as McCrossan made several key interventions, one of which led to a goalbound shot from Seth McGirr finding the back of the Naomh Columcille net restoring Omagh’s seven-point lead with twenty minutes remaining.

Naomh Columcille refused to relent and the introduction of Keelan Cunningham, Conor Keyes, and Daniel Harbinson gave Omagh fresh impetus with James McGarvey landing two inspirational long-range points to steady the ship.

Fionn Daly added a point in the 55th minute which proved to be Naomh Columcille’s final score of the evening, before Omagh closed out the game with further scores from Gallagher, O’Reilly, and Micheál McMahon.

There were jubilant scenes at the final whistle as the Omagh players and their supporters celebrated a memorable victory, their first grade 1 hurling championship title at U16 level since 1993.

Naomh Columcille can take immense pride in their performance, having contributed to a thrilling and sporting contest .

Teams & Scorers

Omagh St Enda’s: Ronan O’Neill, Sean Cunningham, Thomas Logue, Conall Mc Caffrey, Sean Kearney, Jayden Lloyd (Captain), Micheal McMahon (0-1), Tristan Earley, Seth Mc Girr (1-0), Daithi Teague (1-0), James Mc Garvey (0-3), Conor O’Reilly (0-5), Daithi McGinn, Matt Gallagher (2-3), Pearse Clarke (0-1).  Subs – Conor Keyes, Daniel Harbinson, Keelan Cunningham, Jamie McCrossan, Jarlath Cunningham, Eoin Cunningham, Mark Murphy, Jamie Butler.

Naomh Columcille: Tommy O’Neill, Míchaél Kirwan, Arijus Abaraviçius, Pauric Morgan, Arnie Abaraviçius, Tommy Loughran, Fionn Rea, Daniel Kane (0-1), Eoin Ferguson, Erikas Petrauskas, Fionn Daly (0-8, 6 from frees), Reece Fee (1-0), Aodhan Donnelly, Odhrán Ó Colmáin (0-1), Kylan Preece (0-1). Subs – Lorcan Ó Colmáin, Tommy Mac Cathmhaoil, Fionn Mór O’Neill, Brendan Fee, Séan Gervin, David Irzikevicius, Pearse Donnelly, Ruairí McGeary.