Video st pats march on to first macrory final since 1975

Paul Fitzpatrick

St Pat's, Cavan have qualified for their first MacRory Cup final in 40 years following their 1-12 to 2-4 win over Omagh CBS yesterday in Castleblayney.

St Pat's were the better side throughout and led by 1-7 to 1-3 at the break following an excellent goal from 16-year-old Thomas Edward Donohoe.

“We’ve had numerous battles with these boys over the years, right through from the Corn na nOg final, Rannafast final, Brock semi-final, and we knew Omagh and Abbey were the top teams, possibly along with ourselves, and it was always going to be a tight, tight battle,' said St Pat's coach Finbar O'Reilly.

O’Reilly and his joint-managers Shane Fitzpatrick and Fr Kevin Fay sent their charges out with a clear message before the throw-in.

“We’ve worked incredibly hard and we asked the boys to empty absolutely everything they had in them on the field. We asked for a huge work-rate, we have a game plan – everyone knows that – and we told them to stick to that and hopefully that would see us through, and thankfully that’s what happened,” he said.