There are stories of amazing comebacks in finals to snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat, while there is also the scenario where the underdog triumphs against the red hot favourite. The latter occurred in the Tyrone IFC this year as Killyman prevailed against all the odds. Captain of the victorious side is Colm McVeigh, who was one of the stars on the day and he gave his views on the game and how the side managed to turn a disastrous early season into the stuff that dreams are made. Killyman is situated on the eastern boundary of County Tyrone and extending into County Armagh. 37 of its 43 townlands are in Tyrone with the River Blackwater separating the two counties. The settlement, which developed around a crossroads on the road from Belfast to Dungannon, consists mainly of a number of single dwellings, although there has also been some in-depth housing development in recent years. Local facilities include a few shops, primary schools and churches. Basically, it is a small parish with a relative sparse catchment area for the club to choose from. However, this has not stopped St Mary's Killyman from competing at most grades in football and they have been fortunate enough to lift adult titles down through the years, culminating in this year's success in the intermediate championship, which was their second at this level, although the last of which was all of 34 years ago. On that day, it took a last gasp goal to claim the title and that situation was to present itself once again in this year's exciting decider. In 2005, St Mary's won the junior championship and league double which included a 25 game unbeaten run, quite an amazing achievement in modern day football and last year, their run in the IFC ended at the semi final stage. Nonetheless, Killyman were soon brought back to earth when they found themselves bottom of the league following a number of rounds in this year's campaign. "It was difficult at the start of the year as some lads had lost interest, while some were injured and others away. Having gone so long unbeaten, it set us back a lot when we finally lost. The league was a disaster, but we knew if we got everyone back for the championship, we still had a chance, although very few outside the club would have given us any hope," said Colm. The management team of Tony Quinn and Tony Hughes was joined by Mickey Kavanagh and almost instantly performances started to improve dramatically, while the return of a number of players also helped the cause. "A lot of the lads were working near home, which was a big help for training and that, while most of the lads returned and the hunger was rediscovered. There are only about 15 or 20 families in the parish that provide footballers to the club and for us to be up senior is a remarkable achievement." Killyman went into the game knowing that a defeat would leave them in junior football next season and they played like their lives depended on it with every player to a man playing his part to shock Moortown. Double-chasing Moortown were out of the blocks quickly and by the 16th minute they had raced into a 0-5 to 0-2 advantage and everything appeared to be going according to plan. They managed only one further score for the remainder of the half, however, as the underdogs hit back to draw level. In the second half Moortown forged two points clear again but they could never shake of an impressively determined Killyman outfit. And, in the final twenty five minutes of action that produced only two scores apiece, it was the St Marys that got the one that mattered, Paul McVeigh getting the final touch from a free from his brother, Fintan, to send the whole of Killyman into raptures. Killyman had fifteen heroes on the field with Declan Boyle, Emmett Hughes, Colm McVeigh, Ciaran Og Hughes, Conor Boyle and Fintan McVeigh, in particular, standing out. "We did well in the league last year and we knew that you don't become a bad team over night. We are a very close-knit bunch of players and we were never going to get beaten. "We knew when we beat Strabane in the first round we had a chance of going all the way and the lads really knuckled down in training. We lost Peter McGahan to injury in that game and that was a big blow and, two weeks before the final, Ryan Hughes went to Australia. But we have had other excellent players who have come in to take their place. Killyman thoroughly deserve their senior status for next year, but before that there is a small matter of the Ulster club championship to consider and Colm revealed that the club would be putting a big effort into the campaign. "We will give the club campaign a big effort and see how it goes. Our main aim this year was to avoid junior as if we had lost the championship final, we would have been relegated to junior because of our league position." Colm admits that it will be tough in the senior grade next year, although he feels that the team can only improve from playing the best in the county. "There's no question that it will be tough, but we will give it our all. Playing such quality teams can only help us improve and if we can manage to maintain our senior status for a year or two, I've no doubt that we can compete with the best. The experience will do us the world of good." Colm works as a quantity surveyor with O'Hanlon Bros Construction Ltd, which is based in Coalisland, Co Tyrone. The company is owned by Gerard O'Hanlon and specialises in Building and Civil Engineering. Colm has been working with the nationwide company for the past five years and has been involved in many projects both sides of the border. "We are busy at present and are involved in a number of projects both in the North and the South. The company has a number of years experience behind it and is considered one of the top firms in Northern Ireland." Tweet

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