Pomeroy boss McElholm pleased with opening performance

UPBEAT Pomeroy manager John McElholm feels his side have sufficient quality to compete with the best of them after they underlined their Championship credentials last weekend.

The Plunketts ‘stormed’ back (quite literally given the conditions at rain-battered Pairc Colmcille) scoring the last eleven points of the contest to defeat Beragh 1-14 to 1-7 in the first round of the Intermediate series.

Midfielders Ronan Duffin and Ryan Loughran lorded the second half for the victors, while Tyrone stars Kieran McGeary and Frank Burns also stamped their class and authority on proceedings against the high-flying Red Knights.

Next up for Pomeroy is Owen Roes in the quarter-finals this Sunday evening, a match which they go into in fine fettle according to John McElholm.

“ We knew we had men to come back in but we have never looked beyond Beragh and couldn’t afford to. We had to give them loads of respect because they finished second in the league winning thirteen out of fifteen. That was some going given how competitive we know the league is.

“ But our team is full of quality. As well as Frank and Kieran we were able to freshen it up with younger lads too. There is a brilliant foundation to build from. Their workrate and appetite in training and in matches is first class. We knew we were going to be right for a good performance.

“ Beragh has men who could hurt us-Paddy McCann was back in the fold- as well as Conor Owens, Jack Campbell, Martin Rodgers, who could pull the strings for them. But to our credit I think we got our match-ups correct and Hugh-Pat (McGeary) made a big difference when he was switched onto Conor Owens.

“ Hugh-Pat showed all his experience and his class and it is just brilliant for us to have him back because he is a fantastic lad and a brilliant competitor.”

McElholm also praised the standout contribution of his midfield tandem (who weighed in with seven points been them) to the team’s victory at the weekend.

“ I thought Ryan Loughran was immense in terms of going after their kick-out and winning our own. His work-rate off the ball was terrific as was that of Ronan Duffin who is also a class act and has great feet. I think he got five points for us, four from play, which was some going on a bad day like that in the Championship. They were all boomers from distance too.”

John is expecting another tough outing this Sunday night at Healy Park against an Owen Roes team which conceded just four points in their opening round victory over Naomh Eoghan.

“Owen Roes beat us comfortably in the first league match though we were obviously missing our Tyrone contingent. They were really defensive against us, with every man behind the ball, so it’s another problem that we will have to sort out this week.”