Ulster Club Minor Football Champions' final: Termon (Donegal) v Lavey Erin's Own (Derry) (today, St Paul's, Belfast 1.30pm)
A NEW name will be inscribed on the Jimmy McConville Cup after today's final in the FonaCAB Ulster Club Champions' Tournament as Donegal's Termon and Derry's Lavey battle it out at St Paul's in Belfast.
Neither club has ever before reached the decider of this prestigious competition that is supported by the Belfast City Council. In fact, this is the first season that either Termon or Lavey have played in the competition. It is the first time that Termon have won the Donegal Championship and it is 35 years since Lavey came out of Derry at this level.
That was at the very beginning of the St Paul's organised tournament but the Derry minor championship in 1984 was not finished in time for the winners to enter the Ulster race so Oak Leaf representatives were missing from the draw that year.
When Termon and Lavey won their respective championships in 2019 neither had designs on a provincial title. They would not have been reckoned as favourites to clash in the decider so there is a freshness and an air of expectancy about the afternoon's battle ahead.
“Our main target was to get to the Derry final and whatever else happened would be a bonus. We had no thoughts about winning the Ulster title, back last spring,” says Lavey manager Michael Hassan.
Termon team boss Trevor Alcorn reflects much the same: “Our immediate aim at the start of the Donegal championship was to get over the first game and as the fixtures came it was the same attitude – get over this hurdle.
“We never looked any further than the next game. We took each game as it came and treated it differently from the previous one. All opposition is different. Certainly, there were never any dreams of reaching the Ulster final. We knew we had quality players but we took it game by game.”
Times are busy for Termon just now, but they are not complaining, of course, as they had to play the Donegal Minor League final last Saturday. They lost to Four Masters.
“I suppose we had one eye on the Ulster final and we were a few players short but I am not complaining about that,” stresses manager Alcorn, “Four Masters deserved to win and we congratulate them on doing that.
“This is now a new game and a different situation. All I want from the lads is a good performance and whatever will be, will be. There has to be a winner and a loser but, of course, I hope that we will be the winner.
“Minor teams always wonder how they would perform against teams from other counties and now we know about that. We have proved ourselves good enough to get to the final.”
It was, in the end, as nail-bitter of a semi-final between Termon and Kilcoo who “threw everything” at the Donegal boys, “in the last quarter but the winners put in a staunch backs-to-the wall defensive performance to hold out for a narrow 2-4 to 1-6 win.
“It certainly was a nail-biting finish but good preparation for the final,” claims Alcorn. “We looked well on our way to victory when we led 2-4 to 0-3 with about 15 minutes left but Kilcoo came back at us. When well in control we made some mistakes, giving away the ball at times, but, thankfully, the boys held out.“
Shealan Johnston rifled over a free-kick for Kilcoo four minutes into added time to leave just one point in the battle but the Tir Connail champs survived.
“That sort of finish to a game in which we led well until the final quarter was good preparation for the final as it proved a game is never over until the final whistle,” says the Termon manager.
Mark Toye's defensive work at full-back in those hectic closing minutes was a feature of the Termon victory while the likes of Conor Black and Coleman also contributed handsomely. As usual, midfield men Jack Alcorn and Ryan McFadden were stumbling blocks to the opposition.
“Alcorn and McFadden are exceptionally strong in midfield,” remarks Lavey boss Michael Hassan. “We watched Termon and we were very impressed with their play. They scored 9-28 and conceded just 2-12 in three games so that shows they are fast and accurate in attack and solid in defence.”
However, Hassan was pleased with his team's winning performance against Enniskillen Gaels in the semi-final as the Derry champions held control for most of the game. Matthew Downey along with Jimmy and Joe Dougan stood out for the winners “But”, insists manger Hassan, “it was a team performance that controlled the game and took us through to the final at the first time of asking.”
He also pointed to the character of the team in getting through a difficult Derry campaign when Lavey had to storm back in their last three matches before claiming the title.
“I know that if we don't start well against Termon we could be in trouble. We can't afford to leave it to late in the game to take control. Having watched Termon we know what they are capable of but we, also, know there is a lot of character in our team,” he insists.
Should the game end in a draw extra-time will be played until a decision is reached, if possible.
