Omagh Reach Last Four

Friday 20.02.2015

Club

Omagh CBS 0-13 Abbey CBS 0-9

Omagh CBS made no mistake at the second time of asking at the Athletic Grounds tonight when they finished strongly to qualify for the semi-finals of the Danske Bank MacRory Cup at the expense of Abbey CBS.

As was the case with the drawn game there was little between the sides throughout with the winners hitting three points in the dying minutes to ensure victory. It was Abbey CBS who shaded the first half 0-5 to 0-4 with both sides struggling to put any fluent play together. Both defences were winning their individual battles although Killian McEvoy was the stand out player in the opening period for the Newry lads.

Abbey had a great opportunity to get a goal after only twenty seconds but full forward Ryan Treanor fired low and wide of the right hand post with only the keeper to beat. McEvoy and Nathan Donnelly exchanged wides before the former opened the scoring in the ninth minute from a thirty metre free.

Omagh’s Padraig McGirr was then unlucky to see his shot hit the post and then come back off the bar as well before being cleared. It took the Tyrone lads fourteen minutes to open their account when Aiden Fullerton took a pass from Aiden McSorley to score.

McSorley then got on the scoresheet himself with a neat point from play but another McEvoy free left it 0-2 apiece with twenty two minutes gone on the clock. Omagh full back Eoghain Murray then came to his side’s rescue with a brilliant block to deny Treanor a goal, Abbey taking the resulting “45” short for McEvoy to split the posts.

Good work from Andrew McGrath saw him beat three players before winning a free which James Darcy knocked over but almost immediately Treanor responded at the other end of the field. The end of the opening period produced the best football as both sides began to play a lot better.

Callum O’Neill and the hard working Treanor combined for McEvoy’s trusty left foot to register his fourth point of the half. It was Omagh though who had the final say of the half when good approach play from Gavin Slane helped tee up McGirr to fire over.

Omagh came out for the second half the better side and by the 41^st minute they had forged two points in front thanks to two Darcy frees either side of a point from play from Nathan Donnelly. By the end of the third quarter though Newry were back on level terms thanks to a Treanor brace.

Moments later the Newry lads had a great goal chance but Sheagh Dobbin’s first time shot was comfortably dealt with by Omagh substitute keeper Packie O’Neill. Substitute Gavin Slane then gave his side a lead that they were never to lose before Cathal Donaghy fisted a point.

Treanor and Darcy traded points before the former found the range again to cut the deficit to the minimum. It was anybody’s game but the Tyrone lads found an extra gear in the closing moments with scores from Fullerton, Slane and Darcy to book a last four meeting with St.Pat’s Cavan.

Omagh CBS: C Traynor, C Moss, O McGinn, E Murray, C Donaghy (0-1), P Keyes, R McKenna, J Darcy (0-5, 5f), J Harkin, P McGirr (0-1), A McSorley (0-1), M Coreless, A McGrath, A Fullerton (0-2), N Donnelly (0-1). Subs : P O’Neill for Traynor, G Slane (0-2) for McSorley, A McSorley for McGirr, C Loughran for McGrath

Abbey CBS:A Morgan, D Rooney, P Murdock, L Byrne, F Quinn, C McKinney, N Rafferty, S Dobbin, C McCoy, K McEvoy (0-4, 2f), C Magill, C O’Neill, S Murdock, R Treanor (0-5, 3f), R Campbell. Subs: J Rock for S Murdock, A MacMahon for Rafferty, N Rafferty for Magill, R Reel for O’Neill

Referee – B Cassidy, Derry