By Jerome Quinn BBC Sport

On Saturday at the Maghera v Omagh MacRory Cup quarter-final at Casement Park there was a confrontation on the sideline that made me grimace.

With matters on the field halted after a heavy tackle, a linesman appeared to take exception to a comment made by a team mentor.

He turned quickly and angrily shouted at the coach, who stood his ground and yelled back.

I expected the linesman to report the mentor to the referee, and for the mentor to then be expelled from the playing area.

However, in the heat of the moment, the incident passed without action being taken.

There were a number of cynical challenges

The fact that this did not happen was one of several matters that concerned me.

Another was the number of mentors on the sideline.

I counted four from Maghera and three from Omagh. And, it was hard to tell them apart as they were all wearing dark jackets.

Surely, the number should have been restricted, and one coach from each side should have been clearly identified by the 'Bainisteoir' bib and given the freedom to patrol the pitch.

Why so many of them were allowed into the playing area is a question for the Ulster Colleges Council to address ahead of next Saturday's replay.

Omagh's Ray McGinley is in possession

I don't mean to be alarmist, but the potential was there in the drawn game for scenes that none of us want to see.

Tensions were running high as it was, with two fired up teams contesting every ball as if their lives depended on it.

And, I have to report that there were a number of cynical challenges.

During the second-half, an Omagh player was unceremoniously bundled over the sideline on two occasions.

The Maghera player was rightly booked, and the Omagh lad had to go off because he was injured on the kerb that surrounds the Casement pitch - although he did return after treatment.

Of course, we still remember the infamous MacRory Final in Coalisland in 1996?

There have been other less-publicised brawls since then and a couple of years ago I wrote about crazy goings-on at an Armagh v Maghera game.

One mentor was seen yelling at a player from the opposing team as he prepared to take a penalty, and in another incident a mentor squared up to a player on the pitch.

A better example must be shown

Of course, the vast majority of the people in charge show common sense and act with responsibility.

They are teachers after all, but if any of them step out of line, they must be punished.

Rules are rules, and tighter controls must be applied. Otherwise, the potential will always be there.

Up in the Stand on Saturday, you could sense the concern, with many fans and parents becoming animated, and with the TV cameras rolling.

A better example must be shown.

Patrician congratulations

On the positive side, it was an exciting game with great skill and commitment, and with a dramatic finale.

Joe Ball scored a wonderful goal, and Mark Lynch kicked a 45 like I'd never seen before.

Credit also to the organisers for the match programmes at both games in Belfast, and to the Sarsfields club for staging the Magherafelt/St Colman's game.

Finally, congratulations to Patrician High School Carrickmacross for beating the Abbey and so reaching the semi-finals in their first year in the competition.

From the outside, it looked to be a shock, but I'm told that the Monaghan lads have been getting results like this all season.

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