ALLIANZ Cumann na mBunscol – BOYS’ INDOOR FOOTBALL HEAT 3: OMAGH

Allianz Cumann na mBunscol Thír Eoghain held the third Heat of its annual Boys’ Indoor Football competition in Omagh’s Station Centre on Wednesday 3 February. Six schools competed in another action-packed day of tremendous football, providing thrills and spills aplenty.
Teams were drawn into two groups of three. Section ‘A’ featured St. Dympna’s P.S. Dromore; Holy Family P.S. Omagh and St. Lawrence’s P.S. Fintona. The Fintona lads seemed to be jinxed when shooting because, try as they may, the opposition goalkeeper was in inspired form to thwart them. Consequently, they missed out on progression despite their worthy efforts. Instead, Dromore topped the section with an unbeaten record. They were joined in the semi-finals by Holy Family – defeating them 3-0 in the group stages. These schools would meet again later in the day…
Section ‘B’ comprised Omagh Integrated P.S; St. Patrick’s P.S. Castlederg and St. Mary’s P.S. Strabane. An honourable mention must be made of the goalkeeper from Omagh Integrated P.S. He was in simply sensational form, saving shot after shot with aplomb. He was, without question, the player of the tournament! However, despite the keeper’s heroics, his team narrowly missed out on progressing further on the day. St. Mary’s P.S. Strabane topped the section, unbeaten, and they were joined in the semi-finals by group runners-up: St. Patrick’s P.S. Castlederg.
The fifth-placed play-off between St. Lawrence’s P.S. and Omagh Integrated P.S ended in 1-1 draw. Both teams did really well on the day, and a draw was a fair result.
The first semi-final saw a well organised, talented St. Dympna’s P.S. Dromore, cruise to a comfortable 4-0 win against a hardworking St. Patrick’s P.S. Castlederg. The ‘derg lads just ran out of steam, but still had a great tournament.
The second semi provided a shock of sorts, as section ‘B’ winners St. Mary’s P.S. Strabane found themselves on the wrong end of another 4-0 scoreline at the hands of an impressive Omagh outfit. That said, the Strabane lads – led by Jonny Lafferty – had a brilliant tournament. Therefore, Holy Family P.S. came through, convincingly, to take their rightful place in the final.
The final, itself, saw a repeat of the earlier group stage clash between St. Dympna’s P.S. and Holy Family P.S. It looked ominous for Holy Family when Dromore took a 1-0 lead. However, despite several near-misses, Dromore could not add to their tally. The Omagh school took full advantage and a two-goal salvo saw them emerge victorious on a 2-1 scoreline. It was heartache for the hitherto unbeaten Dromore lads and their mentor, Sean O’ Neill, but jubilation for Holy Family and Paul Groogan. They now advance to the Tyrone Finals in March, to be held in Cookstown’s M.U.S.A. We wish them well.
Finally, thanks to Stephen McNamee for his expert officiating as referee, and to Eddie Doris (Rúnaí: Allianz Cumann na mBunscol, Thír Eoghain) for co-ordinating this great event. Our thanks, also, to the staff from the Station Centre for their hospitality over the past few days. Go raibh maith agaibh!