Pomeroy grit it out against Gortin

TYRONE SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP FIRST ROUND

Pomeroy 1-18  Gortin 0-14

By Niall Gartland

EIGHT years – that’s how long Pomeroy had to wait for Friday night’s Senior Championship first-round victory over Gortin at O’Neill’s Healy Park.

When they embarked on a giant-killing run to the semi-finals of the 2017 senior championship, there was only one conclusion to make: this was a team very much on an upwards trajectory.

It hasn’t quite panned out that way. Pomeroy have been up and they’ve been down and they’ve had some memorable moments along the way (most prominently their march to the 2023 Intermediate title) but they’ve failed to leave any sort of tangible impact in the senior championship.

And who knows – the Plunketts could yet find themselves consigned to Division Two football for another year. Unless they produce a Greece 2004-esque run to the winning podium, they face a repeat clash against Gortin in a relegation play-off.

That may be a more important battle in the overall scheme of things, but still, it’s nice to dream, and a free hit at a semi-final place isn’t to be sniffed at.

As for Gortin, they went out on their shield. Trailing by eight at the break, their championship campaign was still alive – but only just. They upped it big time though with Sean Og McAleer, Peter Keenan and Cian McConnell among those who spearheaded a pulsating third-quarter surge, clawing the deficit down to two points.

The game stood at a crossroads. The Plunketts hadn’t raised a white flag in a full 17 minutes and the dam was threatening to burst. In those circumstances, a score of any description is all that’s really needed and Ronan Duffin got the engine running with two tap-over frees.

The Plunketts summoned one last big effort on the home straight with the weather taking a turn (rain, and lots of it) and Kieran McGeary exerting an increasing influence on proceedings.

A 56th minute goal from Peter Rafferty, rifled to the roof of the net, was the insurance score, but it had been an uncomfortable second-half and for that, Gortin deserve credit.

Although Gortin enjoyed a reasonably productive opening with two points in the opening ten minutes courtesy of Liam Og Mossey and Odhran Brolly, they soon found themselves struggling to gain in-roads against a tigerish Pomeroy rearguard. Their hard-working captain Ronan Duffin turned over the ball thrice in the first-half, and they were no slouches up front either, their rapid-fire counter-attacks regularly yielding eye-catching scores.

With Frank Burns conducting the orchestra, Pomeroy wedged open a decent lead with a series of points from Duffin, Rafferty, Peter McGoldrick, Ryan Loughran and Marty Coyle. They weren’t afraid to kick the ball either, even if their expansiveness didn’t always pay off.

Gortin got their third point of the day with a Mossey free and they had a decent enough finish to the half with lovely points from midfield duo Fiachra McNulty and Ruairi Keenan. The problem from their perspective was that Pomeroy also had a productive closing spell and led 0-13 to 0-5 at the break.

Gortin had no real option but to throw the kitchen sink at it in the second-half and that’s what they did. For a spell they dominated the midfield exchanges and their adventure in attack paid off with early scores from half-back Cian McConnell and Odhran Brolly.

Sean Og McAleer had stepped it up and nailed a free before striking an excellent two-pointer from play, and a further point from Ciaran Brolly left the scoreboard reading 0-13 to 0-11 with 41 minutes on the clock. It really was anyone’s game at this stage, and Gortin’s defence was standing tall with Daire McSwiggan among those to excel.

But as soon as Gortin had found themselves back in the game, it incrementally started to slip away from them again. Two Duffin frees gave Pomeroy a bit of breathing space, though only temporarily as Gortin responded with an inspirational long-ranger from Peter Keenan.

Frank Burns, now operating on the edge of the square, fired over from an acute angle but Gortin were still hanging in there and responded with a McAleer free. With 55 minutes gone, the outcome was still by no means settled.

A goal was always going to be crucial and Peter Rafferty was well-positioned to find the net after being played through by sub Gavin Goodfellow. He still had work to do and showed great technique to swivel into space before picking his spot.

The goal left Pomeroy in a strong position as full-time approached and they compounded their advantage with the two final scores of the game, points from Rafferty and Ryan McCallan. Job done – but by no means was it a straightforward evening. Still, a championship win is a championship win and Pomeroy should savour their upcoming quarter-final clash.

Scorers

Pomeroy: Peter Rafferty (1-1), Ryan Loughran (0-4, 2 2pt), Ronan Duffin (0-3, 2f), Peter McGoldrick (0-3, 1 2pt), Frank Burns and Kevin Armstrong (0-2 each), Lorcan Kilpatrick, Ryan McCallan and Hugh McNamee (0-1 each)

Gortin: Sean Og McAleer (0-4, 1 2pt, 1f), Odhran Brolly (0-2), Liam Og Mossey (0-2f), Peter Keenan (0-2, 1 2pt), Cian McConnell, Fiachra McNulty, Ruairi Keenan and Ciaran Brolly (0-1 each)

Teams

Pomeroy: John McCourt, Ryan Begley, Lorcan Kilpatrick, Mickey McDonald, Jude Campbell, Brendy Burns, Kevin Armstrong, Ryan Loughran, Frank Burns, Peter Rafferty, Marty Coyle, Ronan Duffin, Kieran McGeary, Hugh McNamee, Peter McGoldrick. Subs: Hugh J Cunningham for Armstrong, Gavin Goodfellow for McNamee, Ryan McCallan for Coyle, Packie Quinn for McGoldrick

Gortin: Daragh Ellis, Peter Bradley, Daire McSwiggan, Cormac Bradley, Oisin McCreanor, Peter Keenan, Cian McConnell, Fiachra McNulty, Ruairi Keenan, Mark Havlin, Liam Og Mossey, Ciaran Brolly, Lucas McGarvey, Sean Og McAleer, Odhran Brolly

Referee: Fergal Ward (Errigal Ciaran)