Accies 2’s back to winning ways at the Thomas Mellon playing fields
Omagh Accies 2’s returned to winning ways on Saturday with a 13 – 0 victory over Cooke 2’s at the Thomas Mellon playing fields.
Omagh couldn’t have wished for a better start, and after putting the visitors under pressure straight from the kickoff, were quick to gain a lineout on the Cooke 22. This was easily won by Moffitt, who along with Harpur continued to be dominant in the lineout for the duration of the game, and good forward rucking created the opportunity for the Accies back line to spread the ball the width of the pitch for winger O’Neill to dive over and score in the corner to put Omagh 5-0 up in the first few minutes. Despite this early score, neither team was able to put any more points on the board until the half hour mark, when Ward confidently stepped up to slot a penalty over from 30 yards after Cooke were adjudged to have had hands in the ruck.
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The Omagh forwards continued to work hard throughout the first half, and although the home side were clearly dominant, they were unable to capitalise any further due to the difficult playing conditions and a number of penalty decisions going against them at crucial times. Rainey in the back row was nuisance in the rucks, stealing ball on a number of occasions, and hooker Shortt was again proving effective with his lineout throwing, preventing the visitors from asserting any sort of authority on the game, and were effectively pinned in their own half for long periods.
Following kickoff in the second half, and despite a stern half time team talk, Omagh continued to concede penalties in rucks and around the breakdown, preventing the home side from adding to their first half score. Forwards Pollock, Porter and Lyons were continually making themselves available to carry ball, and around the hour mark, they were able to set up a steady platform from which McCain was unlucky not to score in the corner following a quick chip over the top from the Accies scrum half, with the ball rolling past the dead ball line just out of reach of McCain’s outstretched arms.
As the second half reached it’s mid point, Cooke were finally able to begin making some progress into the Omagh half, with their backline beginning to see some more of the ball. This forced Omagh back inside their own 22, and Cooke began to push closer to the Omagh line, but the Accies’s backs were more than a match for what Cooke offered, as strong tackling from Ward, McKelvey and McCain kept their opponents in check. Cooke did however finally manage to make it over the Omagh line following a quick penalty, but were held up by a mass of Omagh players.
This proved to be the last real threat the visitors were able to pose, and Omagh again took up position in the Cooke half for the remainder of the game. The only respite Cooke were able to gain was when they kicked to clear their lines, but they then had to deal with both Givens and Irwin who were having solid games, and making impressive ground when running at the Cooke defenders, Givens taking the more direct approach and crashing through the opposition tacklers, and was unfortunate not to continue his way over the line for a score on more than one occasion, whilst Irwin, returning to the side, used his quick feet to sidestep a number of defenders, and gain excellent ground.
Omagh finally got the second score that they deserved as the game entered the final few minutes, when Alexander took the ball from a short pass from the scrum half to force his way over the Cooke line for a well deserved score to cap off another strong performance.
Omagh 2’s travel to Ballymoney 2’s next week in what will be a tough encounter against a side who have made a strong start to the season.
Team: K Alexander, G Shortt, S Lyons, S Moffitt, L Pollock, D Porter, R Harpur, R Rainey. J Armstrong, D Ward, J Irwin, M McKelvey, S McCain, R O’Neill, K Givens
Match Overview – By Event
‘5 Ryan O’Neil
’30 David Ward
’75 Kyle Alexander
Match Overview – By Player
. Richard Rainey
. Richard Harpur
. Ryan O’Neil (‘5)
. Stephen Lyons
. Stewart McCain
. Stephen Moffit
. Mark McKelvey
. Lee Pollock
. Gareth Shortt
. Dean Porter
. James Irwin
. Jason Armstrong
. Kyle Alexander (’75)
. Keith Givens
. David Ward (’30)
Omagh U17 v Donegal U17
This was the first league game for the Omagh U17 side and the rewards for some good training sessions were obvious
Omagh U17 (19) v Donegal U17 (14)
This was the first league game for the Omagh U17 side and the rewards for some good training sessions were obvious when Omagh ran out winners by 19 pts to 14 pts in a hard earned win.
Omagh kicked off and Donegal were fastest out of the blocks as some of their very big forwards made inroads into the Omagh 22. The tackling was a little too high and Omagh fell back into the habit of playing as individuals. Only some last ditch tackles by flankers freddie mcdowell and Tom McNulty kept Donegal out. After several rucks Donegal crashed over despite a brave attempt to hold the scorer up by Gary Hunter and James Short. Donegal converted and lead 7-0.
Omagh bounced back and the backline showed some excellent pace to take place deep into Donegal territory. mark devenney was enjoying his switch to the centre and made one of the many line breaks he put in on the day to allow Lee McLaughlin to crash over for a try. The conversion was missed.
However, Omagh resorted to playing in ones and twos and not tackling the big runners low enough and allowed Donegal in for another forwards try to leave it 14-5 at half time.
Coach Tom McNulty gave Omagh a dressing down at half time as they had failed to reproduce the good work in training. Also the wind now in their favour meant Omagh came out strong in the second half and some great back play with Barry Bradley, mark devenney and Josh Ellis making inroads meant Omagh pressed the Donegal line. Devenney, who was very direct in the centre all day was about to score under the posts when a high tackle dislodged the ball. A penalty try seemed sure but Bradley collected and scored to make sure. Murnaghan converted and Omagh were now in the ascendancy.
The referee restarted the match with a penalty for the high tackle and Omagh again made ground. gavin mcilwaine flew down the wing several times and from the ensuing possession Gary Hunter and Lee McLaughlin contrived to get McLaughlin in for his second try – no-one was going to stop him from 5 metres out. The try was converted to put Omagh ahead 19-14.
Omagh tried to hold on instead of pushing forward and it took some super defence by Barry Bradley, Tom McNulty and one of several saving tackles on the day from stewart craig to keep Donegal out in the last seconds. The whistle went to give Omagh their first win of the season.
Hetherington. Hawkes, Short, Murphy and McCabe did a lot of unseen graft and promising performances from all the backs – many in new positions. Flanagan and Donnell performed manfully without seeing too much possession, but will be good attacking options in the future
A much improved second half performance but still plenty to work on in training on Wednesday.
Omagh Team:
Jordan Hetherington, Gary Hunter, gareth murphy, James Short, Brannagh McCabe, Ross Hawkes, freddie mcdowell, Graham Allen, Eoin Murnaghan, Barry Bradley, stewart craig, Joshua Ellis, mark devenney, gavin mcilwaine, Dylan Flanagan, Lee McLaughlin, Jason Donnell, Tom McNulty, Oisin Taggart.
