Brian McCormack Cup – Lifford Area Shield Final 28 Aug 2016:
BALLYBOFEY UTD 4 CASTLEFIN CELTIC 1
This afternoon, Finn Valley AC was the place to be as, in glorious weather not seen often this summer, our senior side met Castlefin Celtic in this season’s Lifford Area Final of the Brian McCormick Cup. With Castlefin plying their trade in the Premier Division this season, some may have expected the Blues to afford too much respect to the Ballybun side. However, having disposed of strong opposition in the form of Kildrum Tigers in a very hard and competitive match last Sunday, Ballybofey were in buoyant mood going into this match today.
Castlefin made their presence felt early in the game, going close on a number of occasions, the closest of those shaving the post of the home side’s goal. However, after absorbing the early pressure, Ballybofey responded on 11 minutes with what was one of their first attacks in the game. Gavin Doherty, starting this game at left back, threaded a pass through to Mark Griffin who, despite having Dan O’Brien in support, decided to go it alone and cut inside before letting go with a powerful shot which found the far corner of the visitors net to make it 1-0 to Ballybofey.
However, Castlefin responded swiftly on 12 minutes going close on two occasions and forcing Chris Patton in the Blues goal to make a fine save. For the following 10 minutes, it was the middle of the park that seen most activity with former Finn Harps player of the year Raymond Foy dictating matters. However, on 22 minutes, Dan O’Brien picked up the ball for the Blues on the right from where he whipped the ball into the visitors box and when Castlefin only cleared it as far as the waiting Mark Griffin, United’s number 11 displayed super ball control by taking the ball down with his chest before volleying it into the visitor’s net. It was a quality goal scored by a player enjoying a great run of form at the moment to give him his, and Ballybofey’s,second goal of the afternoon.
Even with the 2-goal cushion, Ballybofey were anxious to put more distance between them and Castlefin before the half-time break. With the lack of space in midfield, Chris Patton opted for the long clearance down the left where Shaun McGowan went head-to-head with his opposite number and he flicked the ball into the path of Damien Glackin. The diminutive striker still had work to do and took the ball passed two defenders and after a scramble in the box where the Castlefin keeper made a fine save, Glackin pounced on the rebound and rattled the Castlefin net. Despite the opposition’ protests, where they felt their keeper was fouled, referee Marty Quinn let the goal stand. At 3-0, Ballybofey still wanted another goal before the half-time break and again, the move involved Mark Griffin who went off on one of his mazy runs and beat three Ballybun men before winning a corner however, the Castlefin defence dealt with the resulting corner to leave the Blues going into the break with a 3-0 lead.
SECOND HALF
In the second half, Castlefin came out of the blocks early and pressurised the Blues defence similar to the start of the first half. However, on this occasion, it paid dividends on 49 minutes as a mix-up in the Blues defence presented Castlefin with a goal opportunity and despite an excellent save from Patton in the Ballybofey goal, Stephen Roulston was on hand to punish the home side and issue them with a reminder that the pre-match favourites weren’t finished. With score now standing at 3-1, the following 30 minutes was a tense affair with both sides knowing that the next goal would be critical in deciding the outcome. As time was running out for the visitors, they began to push further and further forward with their best effort coming on 66 minutes. Raymond Foy was awarded a free-kick on the edge of the Ballybofey box much to the anger of the home crowd. From the resulting free-kick, Foy made the short pass to the incoming Stephen Roulston whose shot narrowly missed Chris Patton’s post.
ATTACKING MODE
It was the home side who then switched into attacking mode, with our midfield dominating proceedings and winning hard but fair tackles. The recently-introduced Brian Lafferty made his presence felt by winning a crunching tackle in the midfield and he fed the ball to Glackin, who went on a great run and was fouled on the edge of the Castlefin penalty area. Dan O’Brien stepped up to take the resulting free kick and the ball grazed the crossbar, finally nestling in the roof of the visitor’s net.
Glackin (70 min), O’Brien (73 min) and Griffin (78 min), in search of his hattrick, all went close in the latter stages of the game before Glackin ended the match as a contest with a superb solo goal. Again, Chris Patton in the home goal opted to avoid the busy midfield area and played the long ball wide to the left where Glackin, on 81 minutes, left two defenders in his wake and despite having O’Brien and Griffin in support, the Blues captain opted to go solo and placed a delightful ball into the right-hand bottom corner of the Castlefin net.
‘FULLY-DESERVED’
It was a fitting finish to a superb display for this side who are growing in confidence every match they play. In accepting the Shield on behalf of the team, Shaun McGowan acknowledged the efforts of both teams and the performance of the 3 match officials who ensured that the game flowed freely. McGowan, who himself carried an injury during the match, highlighted the importance of this win to our seniors with the league commencing next Sunday, 4/9/16 away to Letterbarrow Celtic. The Castlefin manager Joe Magee, himself a form Blues player and manager, was magnanimous in defeat, stated ‘The best side won this match – you fully deserved it’ and also wished our lads the best of luck in our league campaign this year.
For anyone who have seen this side during their cup run so far, they will know that fight, determination & teamwork is in plentiful supply in Lafferty’s Lads. Combine that with the small matter of 16 goals scored and only 5 conceded in the last 3 games, it’s no surprise that the squad are looking forward to their league campaign kicking off next Sunday.
WELL DONE TO PLAYERS, MANAGEMENT AND ALL INVOLVED WITH THE OUR LIFFORD AREA CHAMPIONS! #COYB
Ballybofey Utd: Chris Patton , Gavin Doherty, M. Lafferty, P. Kelly, Ronan McMenamin, Neil Lloyd, John Lynch, Shaun Mc Gowan, Daniel O’Brien, Damien Glackin, Mark Griffin.
Subs: Alan Patton(N. Lloyd 47mins), Brian Lafferty(Gavin Doherty 60min), Michael Lynch(Brian Lafferty 82 mins), Marty Patton, Niall Mc Closkey, Darren Kelly
