After almost giving up football, Irish League forward now enjoying the best form of his senior career

Having impressed during his first spell with Limavady, the forward earned a transfer to Knockbreda in the summer of 2019 and after scoring seven times in 19 Championship appearances, was on the move once again a matter of months later to Premiership outfit Institute.

He scored his first top-flight goal in a 2-2 draw with Glenavon in just his second league match for the club but then Covid struck, Institute were relegated to the second-tier and Pomeroy only played six times for the club after the enforced break with frustration mounting over lack of opportunities.

With thoughts of quitting at the forefront of his mind, his dad – and Limavady goalkeeper coach – Ally convinced him to give it another shot with the local club and as they say, the rest is history.

Pomeroy scored 15 Premier Intermediate League goals in 2021/22 and 31 in all competitions throughout the campaign before following it up with another 26 in the most recent term (16 in the league).

"I'm from Limavady so everybody knows what I'm about and there was nothing to prove,” he said. “Everyone knows what I'm like.

"I was contemplating packing in football completely but my dad was the goalkeeper coach and he told me to come down to Limavady and if I didn't enjoy it then so be it, so I went down and I enjoyed it. All the boys made we feel welcome and I knew them all already.

"I've just been playing more. A couple of seasons before that I just wasn't getting a good chance.

"I was at Limavady and was injured for the first half of the season but scored seven or eight goals in the run-in and we ended up getting relegated in the last game of the season.

"I went to Knockbreda and scored eight or nine goals before Christmas, got a move to 'Stute and then Covid came. When we came back I wasn't fancied then and I came down the road to my hometown club.

"(It’s frustrating not getting a chance) especially when you think in your head that you're better than the boys who are playing. When I left 'Stute I think we played five or six games in the Championship and I left as top goal scorer and I had the least amount of minutes.

"When I was there they tried to play it off as there were that many injuries and we weren't going to win so they didn't want me getting injured, but I didn’t believe that.”

Despite scoring more league goals this time around, Pomeroy is his own harshest critic.

"I think personally I underachieved,” he added. “I scored less goals than I scored last year and I think I should have had a lot more.

"I got 16 in the league and 26 overall. I had 31 the season before so I would have liked to beat that. I had a dry spell at the end of the season and that's what cost me really."

Pomeroy finished third in the PIL goalscoring charts behind Bangor’s lethal strike duo of Adam Neale and Ben Arthurs who scored 20 apiece, which will undoubtedly have grabbed the attention of teams in higher divisions.

However, his main aim currently is to try and help Limavady seal Championship promotion under the leadership of former Coleraine coach Paul Owens.

"I don't think I would play in the Championship,” he said about potential interest. “If a Premiership club came I would think about it but my aim is to stay at Limavady and get them promoted this year. That's what I want to do."