Omagh Minor Ladies lose out to Lurgan in Ulster semi

Omagh St Enda’s 1-8   Lurgan Cavan 6-5

FIVE first-half goals ended Omagh Minor Ladies journey in the Ulster Club Championship at O’Neills Healy Park on Sunday. The damage was done in a controlled first period by the champions who for long periods bossed the contest.

Leading by nine at the break, Lurgan only scored a second half 1-2 as Omagh came more and more into the tie.

While they improved, the damage was already done.

Late call-up Ciara Brady hit a first half double as the visitors took advantage of some poor work from Omagh getting the ball out of their own defence.

At times, the Cavan side threatened to run rampant.

Despite the half-time gap, Omagh were far from out of it though. Emma McCrossan supplied some great ball for Emer Cunningham, Aine Strain, Shauna McCrory and Emer McCanny.

St Enda’s had plenty of ball at times but there was a big physical difference. Perhaps they did carry the ball too often into trouble against a well-organised Lurgan defence.

The visiting attack were impressive. County star Shanna Galligan was a constant target, pulling the strings for the champions, setting up players and winning the ball.

They will now fancy winning back-to-back titles.

The opening minutes of the contest, played on a wet sod, saw Omagh drive at Lurgan. They unlocked the defence several times with McCrory pressing for an early goal, dealt with by Carragh Brady.

Strain also went close before the game swung in the eighth minute with a brace of goals.

Galligan’s effort came off the crossbar and fell to Ellen Murray, who had the easiest of finishes. From the kick-out, Megan Brady drilled home a second goal.

Strain’s jinking run tore open the Cavan defence and she replied with a goal of her own yet by the end of the first quarter Lurgan had bagged another brace of goals.

Galligan dropped over a point followed by a goal for herself. Again from the kick-out, Omagh were punished when Caoimhe Halpin teed up Brady for her first goal. Points from Cunningham and McCrory were all Omagh could muster as Brady was in the right place to punch home from close range when a sweeping move had Macken’s shot come off the crossbar aided by an Aine O’Reilly save.

Both sides exchanged late first half points with Omagh having a good spell. Aine Cunningham, Clodagh McCanny and Emer Cunningham again landed points, while Galligan forced a fine stop from O’Reilly with Brady and Emma Tolan steering over from distance for Lurgan who ended the half nine points up.

On the restart the gap opened to ten when Macken finished well from the right. Substitute Leah Swift pulled a point back for Omagh but any hopes of a comeback suffered a real blow when Tolan sent Galligan in for a sixth goal six minutes in.

O’Reilly made a couple of stops too and Omagh never dropped their heads despite their desperate situation.

Swift tagged on a point when she burst through, and, despite pressing, they were not to score again.

Cunningham saw her effort saved and they hit several wides in the final quarter while Galligan wrapped up their place in the final with a long range free. Disappointment for Omagh in the end capped with a yellow card for McCanny and the loss to injury by the impressive McCrossan.