Donaghadee welcomed Omagh to Donaldson Park on Saturday in the Quarter Final of the Powerade Towns Cup. The Omagh team travelled to Donaghadee full of confidence having gone a number of games unbeaten as they battle for promotion with Ballyclare at the top of Qualifying League Two.
Given the particularly poor weather conditions of late the strong touchline support were delighted to be able to enjoy this cup game in dry conditions, albeit the pitch itself was still soft underfoot which had its bearing on the game.

The game had not developed into any sort of structure when in only the second minute of play Paul McKenzie broke through the Omagh defence and ran the full half of the pitch to score the opening points of the day. Returning after an injury lay-off McKenzie could not have wished for a better return to action for both him and Donaghadee. Paul Blewitt added the extras to give the home side a 7-0 lead.

After such a bright start from the home side the visitors were the team who, after this initial set back, were first to settle into a structured pattern of play. The Green and white strips effectively used the stiff breeze at their backs to kick the ball in behind the Donaghadee defence and into the clubhouse corners.

The swirling wind and difficult line-out conditions made it difficult for the home side to gain any sort of territorial pressure in their first half play. A number of Dee counter attacks were attempted however the Omagh defence was sound and did not allow any clear opportunities for Donaghadee to extend their lead.

The visitors successfully kicked two penalties mid-way through the first half, a fair return for their committed efforts.
As the clubhouse clock struck 5 minutes into injury time in the first half Omagh struck their third penalty of the half to take the lead for the first time in what was becoming a tense cup encounter.

Half Time Donaghdee 7 Omagh 9

With the wind at their backs for the second period there was a confidence that Donaghadee could ‘turn the screw’ on their lower league opponents as they fought for their place in the semi-final draw.
The visitors however showed great desire and robustly defended forward advances from Gareth Gordon, Max Montgomery, Bill Allen and co.
A number of penalty efforts were exchanged in the third quarter of the game which gave Donaghadee the opportunity to lead 13-12.

As both teams entered into the final quarter of play the tensions was palpable and with clear try scoring opportunities few and far between one could sense that this particular cup tie was going to be decided by the ability of one team to cruelly punish the errors of the other.
On the 65th minute Donaghadee went through a number of phases just outside the Donaghadee 22 area. Dee captain Ali Lockhart who had been at his dynamic best all afternoon, darting on menacing runs, fed the ball to half back partner Blewitt who had dropped into a deeper position and set himself for a drop goal effort.Blewitt could not have wished to have
struck the ball sweeter than he did and although the ball struck the upright on the way home it was one of the finest drop goal efforts seen at Donaldson Park in quite some time – both within the context of the game and the quality of strike.

This was the home sides last flurry into the oppositions half but crucially offered them a four point advantage and meant the visitors needed something more than a penalty to be victorious.

In the final ten minutes with Donaghadee reduced to fourteen men Omagh threw everything they could at the home side coming agonisingly close to scoring what would have been their first but winning try of the game.
A monumental effort in the end from Donaghadee to keep the powerful Omagh pack at bay for what was a sustained attack deep in their 22.

Full Time Donaghadee 16 – Omagh 12

Coaches McKenzie and Hennessey will be delighted that Donaghadee showed a steely maturity to overcome this potentially tricky cup tie. Further evidence was seen of McKenzie’s ability to introduce new young blood into the team with the introduction of 2nd XV player Andrew Mitchell into the team who after a nervous start looked more and more comfortable at this level as the game progressed. Young players like Mitchell will inevitably grow as players as a result of this experience which bodes well for the continued success of the local club.