Strength of character pleases Dom
Editorial Department • Published 16 Feb 2012 13:00
0 Comments
Share this
Eddie Courtney wheels away after landing a superb score to put St. Michael's two points ahead near the end of their BT MacRory Cup quarter-final game against Omagh CBS last Saturday.<<
Dom Corrigan watched his St. Michael's side produce a superb performance on Saturday in Dunmoyle as they accounted for Omagh CBS in the quarter-finals of the BT MacRory Cup.
However, Corrigan warns that it is going to take a further improvement if they are to make it into the MacRory Cup final with a quality St. Patrick's Armagh side waiting for the Enniskillen school in the semi-final, a game which will take place on February 25 (11am) back at Dunmoyle.
"The prize for the winners of Saturday's game was a passage into the semi-final but we will have to lift our performance even higher. We are 60 minutes away from a MacRory Cup final but we will have to improve if we are to get there. The challenge now for the players is to move it on to the next level and if we can do that we will give ourselves a chance in the semi-final," said Dom.
"We will sit down and look at the dvd of the game and look at the areas we need to improve on. Omagh had chances which on another day they would have taken and we would have been out so we can't afford to allow free shots at our posts. At the other end we need to make better use of our possession in the final third."
St. Michael's had suffered a heavy defeat to Omagh CBS in the McCormack Cup decider in November but that loss spurned on the Enniskillen boys who, Corrigan states, were determined to put right the wrongs from that game.
"Our performance in the league final against Omagh in front of a big home crowd on a cold winters night at the end of November was abysmal," said Corrigan. "The boys were hurting from that as they felt that had let themselves, the school and the loyal supporters down. They were quite determined to readdress that and went about their work since then very diligently. On Saturday they produced a very good performance which was in stark contrat to the display in the league final. The boys have given a serious commitment and have brought a level of intensity to training which they managed to carry through into their performance."
Dominance in the middle third was a key factor in the St. Michael's win, which was something the manager acknowledged.
"The stats at half time showed we won the kick outs 15/5. That gave us a good platform from which to build in the middle third although we were a shade disappointed to only be one point up at half time given the amount of possession we had. Winning midfield though was crucial to us winning the game. We would have been very aware of the quality up front that Omagh possessed and it was important to starve them of the ball."
St. Michael's also displayed good character to battle their way back from three points down midway through the second half, while Corrigan also had praise for goalkeeper Paddy Sweeney who pulled off a great save at the death to deny Omagh.
"We got off to a brilliant start to the game with the goal and we managed to follow that up with a point and it gave us great confidence. We were disappointed to let Omagh back into it but we felt confident at half time that we could build on it. When Omagh went three points up midway through the second half we looked in a difficult place, and we were in a difficult place, but the boys really dug deep. They showed character and belief and that was the most pleasing aspect of the performance. Our strength of character shone through.
"Omagh could have snatched it at the end but Paddy Sweeney pulled off a tremendous save and if they had scored the goal at that stage it was curtains for us," he said.
This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 16 Feb 12
Return to the main index, get more from this section or browse our Sport archives.
