A few weeks can make a big difference in football – and that is something Coagh United can suitably attest to.
After joining Rathfriland in achieving promotion through the three-team play-in last summer, the Co Tyrone outfit had yet to ignite in the league standings during 2023 and, having scooped up merely seven points from their opening 10 matches in the Playr-Fit Premier Intermediate League, outsiders had them cast as a side fighting for their third-tier status come Christmas.
How the tables have turned since the new year, though. It seems 2024 has brought a gift-wrapped shot of energy for Coagh who, since the start of January, haven’t so much as dropped a point.
That’s right – their record this year reads played four, won four, scored 11, conceded three. A perfect month, all told, having picked up 12 points from 12 with all games in the first month fulfilled.
As a result, they now find themselves safe in eighth-place, perched on 19 points and, indeed, just seven from Queen’s University who currently occupy the promotion play-off spot.
The PIL is bunching up in the top half and Coagh have entered the conversation.
They started the year with a slender victory over Moyola Park on January 6, with Aaron Campbell converting the only goal of the game shortly before the half-hour mark at the Coleraine Showgrounds.
That was projected as a basement battle between two relative near-neighbours which Coagh, who are based around five miles outside Cookstown, took command in and prised three precious points that would help retain their Irish League status.
The former Ballymena Provincial League establishment have since returned to Hagan Park for three straight home duels – and they’ve put on the afterburners to quash any idea that an immediate NIFL drop-out is on the cards.
Firstly, they despatched Portstewart 3-0 on January 13 before shooting out a big statement of intent the following week with a 4-1 victory over Warrenpoint Town. And then, most recently, Coagh recorded a 3-2 comeback success versus Ballymacash Rangers on Saturday that prolonged their purple patch; a quartet of seriously impressive results.
The club where versatile Leeds United and Northern Ireland favourite Stuart Dallas took his first steps into men’s football, Mervyn Pattison’s charges ended a seven-year dry run outside of the Irish League when Sam White sparked scenes of joy and jubilation in June; his last-minute strike against Mid-Ulster League champions Oxford Sunnyside rubber-stamping their return to the NIFL ranks from which, although not immediately hitting the ground running, they have built on successfully.
33-year-old striker Campbell, Coagh’s top scorer who has five goals in the PIL thus far, is not their only ace in the pack either. Zach Ferson, Ryan and Lee McMenemy, Conor McGovern, Jack Wilson and Tiarnan Rafferty are all talented players in their own right as they bid to keep making further ground.
It’s great for Tyrone football, moreover; after all, Coagh are one of three from the county in the Irish League – throw Ballinamallard United in the mix as the sole Co Fermanagh outfit in the NI Football League, too – and their contributions out west can benefit the local area overall.
With long-serving Premiership representatives Dungannon Swifts recording a highly sought first-ever victory over Linfield at the 30th attempt at Windsor Park, as well as Dergview coming within seconds of upsetting in-form Bangor in the Championship before settling for a 1-1 draw following a 96th-minute leveller by the Seasiders, Coagh’s exploits further assured that it wasn’t a weekend that went to waste.
How long can they keep it up? Well, time will tell, but a perfect month does them no harm – and it is an immeasurable boost for the region.
The Irish League needs a strong Tyrone, no less than that Omagh Town’s ceasing to be in 2005 has still left a gaping hole in the county. Coagh’s part to play in a bright future mustn’t be understated.
Featured image from Coagh United FC Media.
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