Football

Pomeroy toast their centenary with title

Pomeroy hoist the trophy aloft after winning their fourth Tyrone IFC title at Healy Park yesterday. Picture by Philip Walsh
Pomeroy hoist the trophy aloft after winning their fourth Tyrone IFC title at Healy Park yesterday. Picture by Philip Walsh Pomeroy hoist the trophy aloft after winning their fourth Tyrone IFC title at Healy Park yesterday. Picture by Philip Walsh

Donnelly Vauxhall Tyrone Intermediate Football Championship final: Plunkett’s, Pomeroy 3-12 Kevin Barry’s, Derrylaughan 1-12

Pomeroy are celebrating their centenary year with extra special fervour, after winning their fourth Tyrone IFC title with a terrific second half performance at Healy Park yesterday.

Ryan Loughran and Frank Burns hit the net to add to Chris Colhoun’s first half strike, and the Plunkett’s were on their way.

Derrylaughan played their part to the full in a high quality decider, but it was the superior energy of the Pomeroy men which saw them reach out for the silverware.

“I never thought at the start of the year that we would be here, but we put in the work, and we were deserved winners,” said Plunkett’s captain Hugh Pat McGeary

“It was all about hard work and self-belief. There were a couple of games that we were eight or nine points up in and let it slip.”

McGeary felt the blend of youth and experience gave the team a winning formula.

“The experience we have in our team, with Ciaran [McKenna], Denver [Nugent], Brendan Cunningham, and then you have the younger players like our Kieran, Frank [Burns], Brendan Burns and John and Ryan Loughran. There’s a good blend there, and it’s just great to bring that together on the field.”

Pomeroy, with the wind in their backs, eased into a 0-4 to 02 lead inside the opening quarter, with Frank Burns hitting three points, and Kieran McGeary also on target.

Derrylaughan were living off scraps, but Liam Gervin and Fergal McAliskey were clinical in their finishing from distance, bringing the sides level for the third time.

The Plunkett’s controlled the midfield area through Brendan Cunningham, Ryan Loughran and two further Burns efforts, while a John Loughran point restored the two-point advantage. But Derrylaughan struck for a 25th minute goal, punched home by Ciaran Gervin from Ciaran Quinn’s cross.

The Plunkett’s responded with a Chris Colhoun goal in stoppage time to take a 1-7 to 1-5 lead into the interval, but the sides were level for the fifth time within 10 seconds of the restart.

However, the Plunkett’s stepped up the tempo and struck a major blow with a second goal on 38 minutes, midfielder Ryan Loughran taking Gavin Goodfellow’s return pass to fire past James Kennedy.

Brian Kennedy narrowed the gap to a point, but Pomeroy pushed on again and sealed it when Ciaran McKenna won the penalty that Burns slotted home to bring his tally to 1-6.

MATCH STATS


Pomeroy: J McCourt, B Burns, C McKenna, S Quinn, D Nugent, HP McGeary, M McKeever, B Cunningham, R Loughran (1-1), K McGeary (0-2, 0-1 free), O McCreesh, F Burns (1-6, 1-0 pen, 0-2 frees), J Loughran (0-2), G Goodfellow, C Colhoun (1-1). Subs: K Armstrong for Goodfellow, J McCaffrey for Colhoun, R Begley for McCreesh.


Derrylaughan: J Kennedy, J Donaghy, Ciaran O’Hagan (0-1), M Robinson, S Robinson, M McStravog (0-1), Colm O’Hagan, B Kennedy, C Kennedy, T Carney, L Gervin (0-1), P Donnelly, C Quinn (0-1), F McAliskey (0-5, 0-2 frees), C Gervin (1-2, 0-1 free). Subs: B Quinn for M Robinson, Caoilean Hughes for Carney, Stephen McGrath for Donnelly, Seamus McCann for C Quinn, Seamus Carron for Donaghy.


Referee: M Sludden (Dromore)