Carrick 1st XV were beaten by 11 points to 8 by Omagh in their crucial League encounter at Tom Simms Memorial Park on Saturday 21 February. In a hard fought match, in which the weather conditions were always a factor, the Maxol-sponsored Carrick side just came up short but credit must go to their opponents who handled the windy and very cold conditions marginally better. The home side produced a great defensive performance in the first half hour when they were under great pressure from Omagh who, playing with the wind at their backs, kept Carrick penned in and around their own 22 for long periods. Carrick then, if anything, began to get on top and were a little unfortunate to go in at half-time trailing by 6 points to 5. Although the home side did manage to apply pressure in the second half, when the elements were in their favour, and took the lead twelve minutes into the second half, Omagh came back strongly and used their increasing dominance of possession to eventually breach the Carrick defence. They then played extremely smart rugby in the closing stages, hanging onto the ball, aided by a series of penalties, throughout the last five minutes or so.
Carrick’s channces of winning the Section 2 title are now remote and would require a 100% record from here on in and for Omagh to slip up. They did put up a very brave performance though against the League leaders and the result of the match was always in doubt up to the final whistle. Johnny Cullen put in a great peformance in defence aginst the dangerous looking Omagh backs and was involved in most of the Carrick attacking moves.Aaron McKinney, Johnny Sheriff and Jason Wady caused problems for the Omagh defence and also did their share of the tackling when Carrick were under pressure. Up front, the Carrick scrum had the edge but, on their own put-in, Omagh were largely able to nullify this advantage by heeling quickly and getting the ball away. Line-outs were a bit of a lottery in the windy conditions and the break-down was fiercely contested. However, in this area Omagh did have the edge in the final quarter but not without stern resistance from Carrick. Ross Marsden at open-side was a thorn in Omagh’s side throughout,getting over the ball time and again and putting in some heavy tackles. He had strong support from John McDowell, making a welcome return to 1st XV rugby and who came on as a substitute for the injured Curtis Rea, while Adam Gibney was once again busy in the loose as well as the scrum.
With the stiff breeze at their backs in the first half, Omagh had Carrick under pressure from the kick-off and it took a strong Carrick defensive effort to keep them out. After ten minutes, the visitors took the lead through a penalty goal but could not make any further impression on the solid Carrick defence. For most of the first thirty minutes, apart from the odd break-out, Carrick were kept penned in and around their own 22 . However, after the half-hour mark some good play with ball in hand, and a series of line breaks by Aaron McKinney, Jason Wady and Johnny Sheriff, gave Carrick an attacking platform in Omagh territory. After thirty-seven minutes, and following a penalty kick to touch ten metres out from the Omagh line, quick ball to the backs and fast transfer produced a try for Aaron McKinney who, not for the first time, ran an excellent line to getr the touch-down. Against the wind, Luke Whittall’s conversion attempt fell just short but Carrick now led by 5 points to 3. However, on the stroke of half-time Omagh put over a long range penalty to take a 6 points to 5 lead into the break.
The second half was in some ways a mirror image of the first, with Carrick this time applying all the early pressure aided by some good line kicking by Kenny Topping and Luke Whittal. The home side eventually got its reward when, twelve minutes into the half, Luke Whittall put over a penalty to give his side an 8 points to 6 lead. However, towards the end of the first quater, Omagh, sensibly keeping the ball in hand, began to establish a bridgehead in the Carrick half. They were aided by some Carrick indiscipline and a series of penalties enabled them to keep the pressure on. After one penalty, with ten minutes remaining, they got over the line following a line-out catch and drive to regain the lead. The try was not converted Carrick immediately began trying to apply some pressure of their own. However, intelligent play by Omagh, and further indiscretions by Carrick, enabled the visitors to retain possession throughout the closing minutes and they held on to claim what was, just about, a deserved victory by 11 points to 8.
Carrick must now pick themselves up for the trip to Enniskillen who won the game at Carrick in early November. While winning the League title is no longer in Carrick hands, a second place finish could still be important if Instonians manange to get back into AIL rugby and two teams are promoted from Section 2.
The Carrick team which faced Omagh was:-
A. McKinney; P. Simpson, J. Cullen(Capt), J. Sheriff, J. Wady; L. Whittall, K. Topping; A. Gibney, N. Hanna, R. Willaims(M. Smiley), C. Rodgers, A. Kinkaid, R. McGonigle, R. Marsden, C. Rea(J. McDowell).
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