Chloe plays through the pain barrier

By Niall Gartland

TORN hamstring be damned – St Macartan’s star Chloe McCaffrey knew she needed to be on the pitch as Saturday evening’s Tyrone Senior Ladies Championship final against a gallant Carrickmore reached a frenzied conclusion.

McCaffrey, a hugely gifted forward who has starred for club and county for many years, had to content herself with a place on the bench on Saturday due to injury.

In normal circumstances, Chloe shouldn’t have been playing at all – but with the Championship title up for grabs in an epic final that went to extra-time, she entered the fray with less than ten minutes remaining.

And it’s fair to say she left a massive imprint on a final that was decided in extra-time.

Her superbly taken goal five minutes into the opening period was more or less the winning of the game, and she said manager Ryan McMenamin wasn’t going to hold her back from coming to the aid of her teammates.

“I was going to have to write my own sub letter, he wasn’t going to put me on! I was at Ricey’s side for a while.

“We were in bother and I said ‘right, let me on’ and came on and did what I could for the team and it’s completely worth it – I’d do it again!”

The Eskra woman also name-checked the team’s inspirational captain Shannon McQuaid, who faces a lengthy special on the sidelines having ruptured her ACL.

“It’s really special, we’d been written off after last year and now we’ve beaten the biggest teams, Errigal, Trillick and now Carrickmore.

“They’re three of the biggest teams in Tyrone, and to do it in spite of injuries was brilliant – our captain Shannon McQuaid did her cruciate in the last game and to get her up those steps is unbelievable.”

St Macartan’s are accustomed to winning titles and now stand alone at the top of the roll of honour list with 14 Senior Championship titles to their name, but they’ve also had to contend with a few set-backs in recent times. They’re a resilient bunch, however, and McCaffrey emphasizes that they’re like one big family.

“We’ve lost two or three times but the next year we’ve managed to come back and make amends. We overcome all these obstacles and we’re just great friends, we’re like a family, including the management team.”

McCaffrey also paid tribute to vanquished opponents Carrickmore, who played their part in a thoroughly entertaining and high-quality showpiece final.

“Carrickmore’s a great side, they’ve serious talent and have had a lot of underage success. They’re a brilliant side but we relish testing ourselves against the top teams, especially Carrickmore as they’ve been a big rival for us through the years. You look at Sorcha Gormley, she’s an exceptional talent, marking her isn’t an easy task and I thought Grainne [McKenna] did well.”