Silver lining for McDonagh despite national schoolboy final defeat (From Swindon Advertiser)

Silver lining for McDonagh despite national schoolboy final defeat

8:40am Tuesday 9th March 2010 in

• Skip social links
• Print
• Email
• Comments(0)

WALCOT fighter Tommy McDonagh has failed in his quest for a second national schoolboy title, losing to Thomas Whittaker of Rotunda ABC at the Brentwood Leisure Centre, Essex.

From the start of this Class 3 (63kgs) encounter, the 15-year-old could not find his usual spark and was 4-2 down after a lacklustre opening round.

The middle session saw Whittaker continue to land the better scoring shots, and the Liverpudlian enjoyed an 8-4 advantage at the break.

McDonagh increased his work rate during the final two minutes but could not stop Whittaker achieving a 13-6 winning margin.

Coach Harry Scott was philosophical in defeat.

He said: “You can’t win them all.

“Tommy had an off-day today and paid the price.

“I’m not quite sure why but he never really got going.

“Hopefully he will learn from this and come back stronger next time.”

One positive aspect of the day was an England Schoolboy call-up for McDonagh, despite losing.

He will compete for his country in a Three Nations Tournament in Sheffield next month.