Last Saturday’s thrilling win over Dungannon was Trillick’s first Championship outing since the untimely passing of club legend and former Tyrone star Jody Gormley
Last Saturday’s epic Championship encounter in Carrickmore had a bit of everything. Brilliant scores, drama, hard hits and, in the end, a narrow win for Trillick over Dungannon.
It was the first Championship outing for the 2023 champions since the untimely passing of club icon and former Tyrone star Jody Gormley.
After losing out to Errigal Ciaran in last season’s county final, Gormley told his players he’d only months to live after being diagnosed with stage four liver cancer. He passed away in December, aged 53.
Peter McGinnity, Gormley’s former assistant, has assumed the reigns with Coalisland native Richard Thornton.
They might never oversee a better game of football than the one witnessed on Saturday evening and Trillick captain Lee Brennan said their departed mentor was still uppermost in their minds.
“I think everybody’s going to be thinking about Jody before big games like this,” said Brennan.
“Any wee energy or power that we can take from that, we’ll take it.
“He’s not at the back of everybody’s minds, he is in the front of everybody’s minds, always. Hopefully, we’ve done him proud with a lot of hard work out there and a good win.”
Brennan scored 0-8 for his side with Trillick set to face Pomeroy in the last eight next weekend.
No team has managed to retain the O’Neill Cup in 20 years – a record Errigal Ciaran will try and change this season.
Given the cut-throat nature of Tyrone’s knockout system, Brennan said the overriding emotion after defeating Dungannon was one of pure relief.
“It was nip and tuck there the whole game,” said Brennan.
“You’re seeing the quality of both teams, the running power, the energy, the scores that some of the boys kicked were outrageous.
“That’s just the talent that’s in Tyrone and it was on show today. Everybody put their shoulder to the wheel.
“It shows you just how hard it is to win a Championship game. Both teams were very even there today and you’ve seen that.
“It went right down to the wire and we were lucky enough just to get over the line. If you aren’t at the pitch of it, it’s lights out.”
Brennan also addressed the controversial two-point score awarded to Ciaran Daly in the second half with Sean Hurson overruling his umpire to award the score after it had been originally called wide.
“I thought it was anyway. The ones in the crowd were roaring that it was a point and Sean (Hurson) was right behind it, so we can’t argue with that.”
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