McClements hopes Omagh can build on breakthrough

WINNING their first Ulster Club Championship game last week at the fourth attempt finally got that monkey off the backs of Omagh’s hurlers.

However, man of the match in that win over Erne Gaels, Tom McClements knows Saturday’s visitors to O’Neill’s Healy Park will represent a whole different prospect with Castlewellan coming to town.

They came back from five points down to claim back-to-back Down titles and play an exciting brand of hurling.

“They are a very good side,” McClements said. “A couple of us are in Belfast and watched some of the Down league games so we are well aware that no team in Down is a pushover.”

McClements hit 1-11 in last week’s win over Erne Gaels and as the hosts cut loose, hitting the net six times.

Dan Haigney, Paul O’Grady and Eunan Campbell also pitched in on the scoreboard while Byron O’Neill hit a brace of goals and young Daire Sally was also exceptional.

McClements felt it was an ideal run-out ahead of a more difficult assignment.

“We have home advantage again and that will make a difference,” he said. “We played the last three years away for every Ulster game, it helps in so many ways, a pitch we are used to.”

He admits that the going has been tough on the provincial stage over this past number of seasons for the Tyrone Junior champions.

“We let ourselves down,” he said. “We met St Eunan’s the first year who were a class above although over the past two years we really have been disappointed with our performances.

“We all know we were not good enough in those games, so getting a first win was important for us, we have to carry that on though this week.”

Development

McClements, like a number of his team-mates including Ciaran Lagan and Paul McKernaghan, is very much a product of almost 20 years of development at the Omagh club established by Kevin Cunningham, Mark Gormley and a small group of volunteers.

“I came along with the likes of Ciaran and Paul,” he added. “I was two years after them in underage while now we also have the likes of Caolan Lloyd and Daire Sally coming through.”

Conor Lenaghan and Declan McGarry who are now in their second year of management and overall, there’s a positive vibe about the club with the Minors recently winning the league.

McClements added: “There really is a lot of positivity about the club and the fact that we have all come through underage in the club together is massive is for us. I know that when we were playing minor, we were nowhere near the level the boys are at now. The massive work going in to the club now gives us all a real lift.”