Pomeroy beat the Barrys to make Intermediate Final

Pomeroy 1-10 Derrylaughan 0-11

POMEROY have squeezed into the Tyrone Intermediate Championship final with a hard-fought but deserved victory over Derrylaughan on Saturday at a blustery Galbally.

It was solid if unspectacular stuff from the Plunketts who booked their place in the final for the first time since 2019 as they just about kept a decent Derrylaughan side at bay.

Jude Campbell was the stand-out performer on show with a personal contribution of 1-2 but it was your typical all-round team performance by and large as they kept the Derrylaughan dangermen relatively quiet, albeit Tomas Carney gave a great account of himself.

Those expecting a rip-roaring contest would’ve been disappointed by the opening exchanges with Pomeroy passing the ball around almost at their leisure and they tagged on three frees in the first quarter via Ronan Duffin.

There was a stiff cross-field breeze in Galbally but Pomeroy were composed in possession with Frank Burns sitting deep and dictating the direction of traffic.

Derrylaughan were limited to a few potshots while Pomeroy had brought an intelligent approach to proceedings, bypassing a midfield battle with Tyrone star Brian Kennedy, playing the ball through the hands and keeping the scoreboard ticking over in tough conditions.

The Plunketts pushed into a 0-4 to 0-1 lead when Jude Campbell scored the first point from play and a fine point it was too, but it seemed to spark the Kevin Barrys into life and they scored three of the next four points.

Shane Scullion boomed over a long-range score, Tomas Carney nailed a difficult free and Ciaran Gervin flashed over a point when the ball was recycled back to him in spite of some tigerish Pomeroy defending.

The heavens opened late in the second-half which only served to worsen the conditions, but Jude Campbell got his second of the day as Pomeroy reasserted themselves after Derrylaughan’s mini-purple patch.

Hugh Pat McGeary, who sat out the quarters, looked sharp at the back, while Brendan Burns and Ronan McKenna were playing important roles in covering back as well as helping to link the play.

The final five minutes of the half were pretty lacklustre with both teams looking forward to a bit of respite from the conditions and Pomeroy holding a 0-6 to 0-3 lead on the scoreboard.

The Washing Bay side got the final score of the half, a pressure kick from Ciaran Gervin, leaving only two points between the teams at the break even though Pomeroy had looked fairly comfortable.

It was all to play for in the second-half. The rain had ceased entirely almost in the blink of an eye, the significant wind hadn’t and the smart money was still on a Pomeroy side who have developed a habit of upping the ante after the break.

And the trend looked to continue when the Plunketts manufactured a well-worked goal two minutes into the second half, Hugh McNamee slipping the ball through to Jude Campbell, who had all the time in the world to pick his spot.

Disappointing for Derrylaughan but they mustered a good response, wiping out the goal with the next three points of the game via Tomas Carney (two) and newly introduced sub Ciaran Quinn.

Was the comeback on? There were 22 minutes of the game remaining and Pomeroy held a 1-6 to 0-7 lead, but Derrylaughan had certainly upped it after a lacklustre showing in the first-half.

They reduced the deficit to a single point with another free and Pomeroy were looking antsy. They were struggling to open up gaps in the Derrylaughan rearguard but ended their scoring drought with a point from Ryan Loughran with a quarter of an hour remaining.

Derrylaughan’s Achilles Heel was some poor shot selection while down at the other end, Pomeroy could’ve had a goal, Kieran McGeary picking out Frank Burns with a perfect through ball. Burns could have played the ball across to sub Aidan Coyle but he elected to pass the ball over the bar. Still, it opened up a 1-8 to 0-8 lead, significant enough giving the paucity of scores, with less than ten minutes remaining.

The two sides traded scores to keep the neutrals interested as the clock counted down but Pomeroy kept their noses in front with scores from Kieran McGeary and Duffin. Carney responded with a couple of frees, leaving only two points between the teams, but the game had entered added time and they really needed a goal.

They had a late free from which they needed to work a goal. Everyone headed for the square and Carney launched it in. It eventually spilled wide and that was that – Derrylaughan had certainly made them work for it but Pomeroy had booked their place

THE SCORERS

Pomeroy
Jude Campbell (1-2), Ronan Duffin (0-5, 0-3f), Ryan Loughran, Frank Burns and Kieran McGeary (0-1 each)

Derrylaughan
Tomas Carney (0-7f), Ciaran Gervin (0-1), Shane Scullion (0-1), Ciaran Quinn (0-1), James Donnelly (0-1)

THE TEAMS

Pomeroy
John McCourt, Micky McDonald, Hugh Pat McGeary, Ryan Begley,Hugh J Cunningham, Gareth McAleer, Brendan Burns, Ronan Duffin, Ryan Loughran, Peter Rafferty, Frank Burns, Jude Campbell, Hugh McNamee, Kieran McGeary, Ronan McKenna. Subs: Aidan Coyle for P Rafferty

Derrylaughan
James Kennedy, Caolan Hughes, Ciaran O’Hagan, Mark Robinson, Conor Hughes, Colm O’Hagan, Conor McCabe, Brian Kennedy, Conor Kennedy, James Donnelly, Shane Scullion, Sean Robinson, Tomas Carney, Ciaran Gervin, Stephen McGrath. Subs: Ciaran Quinn for S Robinson, Liam Cushnahan for Caolan Hughes

Referee: Stephen Campbell (Stewartstown)