Omagh reach ‘seven’th heaven on opening day

OMAGH Futsal Club started their seventh season in existence with a fairly comfortable 7-3 Northern Ireland Futsal Federation Super League victory over Belfast United in Omagh Leisure Complext on Sunday.

With their campaign starting a week later than anticipated following the withdrawal of Rosario from the division and subsequent change in fixtures from two against each team to three, Omagh hit the ground running.

They edged into a 2-1 lead at the break before taking control of proceedings in the second half to lead 7-1 through a hat-trick from skipper, Lee McMenemy and goals from Illia Milokost, Luis Serrao, Hugo Baptista and David Fulton.

And while United responded with two late consolation goals, it was deemed a bright start for Omagh under the stewardship of head coach David Alonso, who according to club chairman Martin Cassidy, managed the game and his sizeable squad well.

“Everyone couldn’t wait to get the league started, there was a lot of enthusiasm,” he observed. “We were dominating play, we were the better team and we were playing well and in the second half we started taking chances.

“We maybe got a wee bit complacent [when 7-1 up] and they stuck in a few goals, but we were always in control. But there’s a lot of work to be done. I can see where we are and I can see where we need to go and there’s a lot of work to be done to get there. But the foundation is there to get there.

“We could have won by more but we’re happy with the game, happy with the team and happy with how [Alonso] managed the big squad, which is a new thing for him with a lot of talented players. I thought he managed it well, giving them all the minutes they wanted, and he managed the game very well, taking time outs when we needed them and I’m really happy with how he managed that and I’m really happy with the players.”

Having bolstered their squad considerably during the close season, doubling their playing numbers, Cassidy believes that will give Omagh not only the depth to challenge throughout the season, but it will also help several players improve further and develop.

“Lee McMenemy scored a hat-trick, which I’m delighted with because he was captain [on Sunday] and I think he’s going to have a super season and hopefully get into the Northern Ireland team,” he said.

“Him and Zach [Ferson] really deserve [that opportunity] because in past seasons those boys were carrying a lot of responsibility for Omagh in terms of defending and attacking and doing all jobs.

“But now they can concentrate on their game because they have more talent and numbers around them because we were over reliant upon them. But now when they’re coming onto the court, they are coming on fresh, they can give it their best for the time they are on the court and they aren’t staying on longer than is needed.”