By Niall Gartland

OWEN Roes manager Barry Tracey was relieved to get out of dodge after a ferociously contested Division Two fixture away to Kildress on Friday night.

A flurry of late scores proved decisive as Owen Roes clinched a 0-23 to 1-17 victory against a Kildress team that gave it absolutely everything in their quest for their first points of the campaign.

Tracey made no bones about it when speaking in the direct aftermath of the game. Owen Roes had in his view ‘dodged a bullet’, but at the same time he recognised that it was never likely to be a straightforward day at the office.

“Coming from Greencastle, I know any time you come to Kildress it’s never easy. In my time managing Owen Roes, we’d never won here. It’s a tricky place to come to.

“We were heading into game six, Kildress had no points and they’re literally clutching for something to grab onto that could kickstart their campaign. If they keep on playing like that, they’ll have no issues.

“We were sitting on eight points and there’s a relative safety in that, but you know when you come to Kildress that you can’t be complacent. But the reality is, when you looked at the table, they had got zero points and it’s easy for boys to get complacent.”

While they looked in very real danger of falling to a surprise defeat heading into the closing stages, Owen Roes showed commendable composure on the home straight to hang on for a fifth victory of a campaign that is shaping up nicely.

Tracey said: “In the end we pushed on. We were maybe the architects of our own downfall for periods in the second half, but credit to Kildress. They were hungry for the breaking ball and you have to hand it to them, they performed very well. We didn’t have a good lead and that means you’re always susceptible to them getting a goal at the death.

“We held the ball for quite a long period and controlled it well. That’s what you need to do. Your concentration levels have to be high because one wee mistake there could have cost us two league points.

“We’re sitting on 10 now, we’re two points away from safety and that was our first target before the summer holidays. I suppose we’re there now and we’ll see where it takes us.”

Next up for Tracey and Owen Roes is Friday night’s meeting with his native Greencastle. Tracey is now in his second stint in charge of Owen Roes but it’s still a tad bittersweet coming up against his home club.

“That’s a difficult one. My son, Caolan, is now playing. It always is difficult, though my family and the people in Greencastle know about the affiliation I have with Owen Roes. It is difficult though.”