Conceding 1-1 inside the opening four minutes wasn’t part of the game plan for Omagh CBS, but they’ve come through enough tough battles this year to know how to deal with adversity.
Holy Trinity, beaten by St Mary’s Magherafelt in the 2022 decider after conceding two first half goals, were quickest out of the traps in Sunday’s MacRory Cup final in O’Neills Healy Park.
Yet, Omagh never panicked and they slowly but surely got back on level terms before turning the screw on their rivals with some exceptional scores and ferocious tackling.
Read more: Recap as Omagh CBS clinch MacRory Cup with Holy Trinity losing a second successive final
Manager Diarmaid McNulty believes their football in the second quarter was the “best football we’ve played all year” and he praised the character of the Omagh players.
“We’ve talked a lot about dealing with setbacks and being resilient,” said McNulty.
“There’s a lot to be said for our boys - they stood up when they were four points down and stuck to the process.
“They didn’t play the occasion, they just played football. I’d say the last 20 minutes of the first half we played the best football we’ve played all year.”
McNulty was part of the last Omagh CBS team to lift the famous cup back in 2007. Now, some 16 years later, he has guided the school back to MacRory glory as manager.
For the Omagh players, it was the fulfilment of a journey that started from the day they walked through the doors as first year students according to their manager.
“Those boys walked through the door as first years with dreams and aspirations of winning a MacRory Cup. For 37 pupils, they’re forever a part of a MacRory Cup winning squad,” added McNulty.
“To help them achieve their dream is a nice feeling!”
“I was here watching the 2009 final (against St Pat's Dungannon) and it was a great final. They lost out in 2010 to St Colman’s who won back-to-back Hogan Cups.
“We have the monkey of our back, but this is a new team. That’s the beauty of the MacRory Cup - it is a fresh team every year. These boys came in with no real baggage - now they are MacRory Cup champions.”
Holy Trinity manager John McKeever was keen to pay tribute to the victorious Omagh CBS team as he was left to ponder what might have been once again as the Cookstown men lost their second consecutive MacRory Cup final.
Despite Liam Lawn’s early goal, they were unable to match Omagh in the second half and an early knock picked up by their captain Ruairi McHugh didn’t help their cause.
“We made a brilliant start to the game and we had a good support and they really got behind us,” said McKeever.
“Omagh came back at us and they have some really quality players and their inside forwards were very busy and caused us a lot of problems.
“We found them hard to handle - fair play to Omagh CBS, they were fully deserved winners.
“Ruairi (McHugh) picked up a hip injury after about 15 minutes - he was involved in a few big challenges early on.
“That’s just the type of player Ruairi is, he played on and gave it everything for the team. He is a great leader and he is the captain of the team.
“Only one school can take the cup home with them - fair play to Omagh CBS they fully deserved it.
He added: "We found it break to break their momentum - they hit five or six scores in a row in the first half. That was probably the winning of the game.
“We’re really proud of the Holy Trinity boys - it isn’t easy getting to back-to-back finals.
“Myself, Kieran McGeary and Peter Canavan are so proud of them . . . I’m just devastated that we couldn’t get them over the line today.”
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