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Omagh Pip Ardboe In All County League
Thursday 08.08.2024
Thursday night saw Ardboe make the long run to Healy Park for their All County League clash with Omagh. With only a point between the teams on the ACL table a win on Thursday night for either side was going to be a huge result.
After a very close and competitive fixture it was the home side that prevailed coming out on the right side of a 0-10 to 0-9 result with ace marksman Ronan O’Neill’s accuracy (6) central to the win.
It was a game in which good defensive play was the order of the day and during which space and time close to the opposition goal was a rare commodity. With space at a premium both teams struggled to create scoring chances in the opening half and it was no surprise that the half ended level at four points apiece.
The first half saw Shea O’Hare’s pace and elusive running enable him break through the Omagh defence for three Ardboe points with their other first half score coming from Mattie Bell. Credit to the home side who matched their opponents stride for stride as Ronan O’Neill, Enda Mc Caffrey, Tomas Haigney and Barry Tierney hit a point apiece to send the teams in at the break level 0-4 to 0-4.
Shay Mc Guigan and Ronan O’Neill swapped scores early in the second half but as conditions underfoot became more difficult the game became more of an arm wrestle. Ardboe clipped over points from Mickey O’Neill and Conal Devlin to move two clear. Omagh responded almost immediately with a fine point from O’Neill but Ardboe looked to have made a significant move as further points from Peter Devlin and Shea O’Hare had them three clear 0-9 to 0-6. Unfortunately for Ardboe they failed to trouble the umpires for the remainder of the game.
Omagh looked to be staring down the barrel of another defeat but a black card decision that saw Ardboe reduced to fourteen players late in the game gave them hope. O’Neill pointed the resultant Omagh free which was followed by a Conor O’Donnell point to level the game for the sixth time. With time running out Ronan O’Neill converted another free to seal the win and move his side a further step away from any relegation worries.
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