🤝 Dromore v Omagh
🗓️ Saturday 18 April, 3.30pm
🏟️ Affidea Stadium
🏆 Towns' Cup
### Route to the Final:
Dromore:
Round of 16: Cooke 5-31 Dromore
Quarterfinal: Ballynahinch 2s 22-23 Dromore
Semi-final: Dromore 55-14 Academy
Omagh:
Round of 16: Omagh 36-8 Portadown
Quarterfinal: Ballymena 2 13-45 Omagh
Semi-final: Omagh 20-16 Enniskillen
### What's at stake:
For Omagh, the final represents a memorable end to their first season back in the Ulster Junior Ranks, with the knowledge that they are one win away from silverware.
Omagh overcame Enniskillen by four points in a keenly contested semi-final, a score of 20-16 swaying in their favour, after overcoming treacherous conditions and stubborn opposition at Thomas Mellon Playing Fields earlier this month.
For Omagh, there’s poignancy too, as their success in this year’s competition marks their first Towns’ Cup final appearance in over two decades. Omagh last were on this stage 24 years ago, when they etched a place in history, via a 32-26 win over Ballynahinch II.
There’s also a generational connection for some of Omagh’s players, with scrum-half Sam Beattie and hooker Ricky Hemphill’s fathers having each played their part in the historic 2002 triumph. Stephen Beattie and Raymond Hemphill were each part of Omagh’s last Towns Cup final squad and will now hope their sons will experience the same victorious outcome, which they did.
That atoned for a heartbreaking loss in the showpiece match the year before, in 2001, when Omagh were beaten to the trophy by Rainey Old Boys, who prevailed by a 57-31 scoreline.
Omagh’s current crop, mostly, will get a first-ever taste of playing at Affidea Stadium.
Dromore might hope to draw inspiration from Omagh’s 2002 achievements: they have reached this final in two of the last four seasons yet, on both occasions, have been pipped to the post on final day.
Four years ago, in 2022, Ballyclare edged out Dromore in a thrilling contest, befitting of a final’s occasion, as Dromore were left rueing a five-point deficit, Ballyclare edging home via a 32-27 victory.
More recently, only last year in fact, Dromore suffered another near-miss in the final. This time the margin of defeat was 10 points but the pain was all too familiar, as Ballynahinch II denied Dromore the Towns’ Cup final, as the 2022 runners-up inflicted the agony of a near-miss onto Dromore.
12 months on and after another stellar run deep through this competition, will it be third time lucky for Dromore?
If that is to be the case, Dromore will have to remedy the result they most recently suffered against Omagh opposition, at the start of March, when Omagh racked up a half-century of points to race to an emphatic win in Ulster Championship 1. Whether that has any psychological impacts, on either sets of players, remains to be seen.
### Teams
### Captain's Notes
Ryan Hughes, Dromore RFC Captain
"It’s my honour to lead Dromore RFC to the Towns Cup Final. It’s a cup that the whole club and town are very keen to win.
Our preparations have been very good so far and we are almost ready. Excitement has been building this week and as usual on cup final week the momentum is building.
Our team are very thankful to our supporters who will make the short journey to Headquarters and we will endeavor to bring the Towns Cup back to Barban Hill."
Matthew Clyde, Omagh Captain.
"It’s a great privilege to be involved, it's been a long time since the club reached a Towns Cup final. Playing at Affidea Stadium will be a special occasion for everyone involved and the whole club.
The squad has worked hard and stuck together throughout the season to get to this point. We’re going to enjoy the experience and hopefully we can bring the cup home on Saturday.
Thank you to everyone for the fantastic support so far this season. We’re expecting a big turnout once again, and your energy and noise will make a massive difference as we push to bring the cup back with us."