Danske Bank MacRory Cup: Late flurry sees Omagh CBS retain their title

Omagh CBS showed their mettle to retain the Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ MacRory Cup with a six-point win over Tyrone rivals St Patrick’s Academy Dungannon.

With the sides level just 10 minutes before the end of this high-quality encounter in Armagh’s Athletic Grounds, Omagh strode clear and showed why they were favourites for the competition from the start.

After two poor wides from Omagh in the opening three minutes, it was Dungannon who opened the scoring off the left boot of Conor McCool in the fourth minute. However, the holders immediately responded as Brian Gallagher strode forward from the full-back line to level it a one point apiece.

St Patrick’s regained their advantage on eight minutes, when Davin McKeown found himself in acres of space on the right and opted to pop the ball over the bar when a chance to go for goal seemed to have opened up. But, as before, Omagh replied almost instantly, this time as Ruairi McCullagh knocked over from close range.

Omagh then took the lead for the first time in the match on 11 minutes when Niall McCarney swept over a superb point from way out on the right touchline.

Dungannon should have found the net less than 60 seconds later as Finn Spence collected a Sean Hughes shot that had dropped shot, but somehow managed to screw his effort from point-blank range wide of the target when it looked easier to score.

They were punished at the other end as Charlie Donnelly pointed to make it 0-4 to 0-2, but Sean Hughes closed the gap to the minimum from a free, before Lorcan Hegarty spurned Dungannon’s second goal chance of the half when he dragged his left-footed shot wide of the post on 18 minutes. Donnelly then added his second and Omagh’s fifth of the match 30 seconds later.

A second Hughes free for St Patrick’s made it 0-5 to 0-4, but Omagh kept their half of the scoreboard ticking over with a mark from McCullagh, before he teed up Jack Law to put a goal between the sides as the half ebbed to a close.

However, there was still time to Dungannon to reduce the deficit, through McKeown and Hughes, but McCullagh replied three minutes before the break to make it 0-8 to 0-6. The Loughmacrory clubman – who hit five points in last year’s final win – notched his fourth of the half in this year’s decider to make it 0-9 to 0-6 at the short whistle.

Omagh got the first point of the second period with Liam Og Mossey slotting over inside the opening two minutes to increase the gap to four, before McCullagh equalled his tally from last year with his fifth of the game on 34 minutes to make it 0-11 to 0-6.

St Patrick’s eventually got their first point of the half on 38 minutes and in fine style too as McKeown curled over a magnificent point from wide on the right. But that was cancelled out within a minute when Paudi Dillon fisted over from the left to reinstate Omagh’s five-point lead.

However, that was cut down to just two on 41 minutes when Conor Holmes palmed the ball to the net after Luke Nesson’s fisted effort had come back off the crossbar.

Holmes then drove over a point from the right three minutes later to really put the game on a knife-edge. But, Omagh settled their own nerves as Gallagher grabbed his second of the match to make it 0-13 to 1-8.

The sides were soon level though as quickfire scores from Sean Hughes and Matthew Quinn made it 0-13 to 1-10 – but that lasted for less than a minute as Mossey twisted and turned before converting with less than 10 minutes to go.

Then on 52 minutes, Omagh got their goal in fortuitous fashion as Charlie Donnelly’s effort looked to be dropping into Dungannon keeper Naoise Quinn’s hands. But he misjudged it and the ball looped into the net to make it 1-14 to 1-10.

Mossey then converted a mark two minutes later, to give Omagh a five-point lead going into the final stages.

Dungannon weren’t about to lie down though, as Conall Sheehy pulled one back and then sub James Mulgrew launched one over with two minutes to play and three points the difference between the sides.

But McCullagh and Mossey tagged on further points for Omagh to make it 1-17 to 1-12 as the tie moved into stoppage time. In those four minutes of time added, Eoin Donaghy made doubly sure of the victory for Omagh with his first point of the game.

That proved to be the final scoring action of the match as Omagh CBS made it back-to-back MacRory Cup wins with the sixth title in the school’s history.

They’ll now have their sights set on repeating their Hogan Cup success of 2023.

MATCH STATS

Omagh CBS: Oisin Watson; Blaine Lynch, Brian Gallagher (0-2), Sean McCann; Nathan Farry, Callum Daly (C), Mark Corcoran; Eoin Donaghy (0-1), Charlie Donnelly (1-2); Oisin Teague, Ruairi McCullagh (0-6, 1 Mark, 1f), Jack Law (0-1; Niall McCarney (0-1, Paudi Dillon (0-1, Liam Og Mossey (0-4, 1 Mark)

Subs: Adrian McGurren for Dillon (48mins), John Edgar for Teague (58mins), Matthew Howe for McCarney (59mins)

St Patrick’s Academy, Dungannon: Naoise Quinn; Lorcan Hegarty, Owen O’Neill, Conall Morgan; Luke Neeson, Matthew Quinn (0-1), Conor Holmes (1-1); Sean Hughes (0-4, 3f), Dillon O’Neill; Patrick McGeary, Conall Sheehy (0-1, Davin McKeown (0-3); Conor McCool (0-1), Finn Spence, Liam McGeary

Subs: Darragh Devlin for Hegarty (H-T), James Mulgrew for O’Neill (41mins), Patrick McLernon for McCool (60mins)

Referee: Paul Faloon (Down)