Antrim Senior Football Championship final: Erin’s Own, Cargin v Lamh Dhearg (tomorrow, Ahoghill, 4pm)
LAMH Dhearg goalkeeper John Finucane is a realist. The club scene in Antrim has been dominated by one club throughout his entire senior football career.
St Galls’ vice-like grip on the Antrim senior championship has now been loosened and tomorrow Lamh Dhearg faces the only team to have beaten the Milltown men in the championship in 15 years – Cargin.
The Hannahstown club have come close to the breakthrough themselves, appearing in four finals in that time, even bringing St Gall’s to a replay back in 2003.
But the record books show that Lamh Dhearg’s last senior title came back in 1992.
“It will take a huge performance from us to take it,” says Finucane.
“When Cargin beat St Gall’s in the quarter-final, they didn’t just send a message out across Antrim, they sent a message out across Ulster.
“They then coasted to victory in the semi-final against a very talented Creggan team.
“We were very fortunate against Rossa, we got away with a narrow win so the odds are there for a reason, and we have to be realistic.
“That said, we have had three very tough championship games and they will stand us in good stead.”
Lamh Dhearg have accounted for St John’s, Portglenone and O’Donovan Rossa en route to the final. They had two points to spare over St John’s, four over Portglenone and a single point against Rossa.
Cargin carry strong favouritism into the decider by virtue of that 1-14 to 0-9 win over St Galls and an equally emphatic 2-14 to 1-7 win over Creggan.
“The three games we’ve had were all battles,” recalls the 35-year-old.
“We started badly against St John’s but came back to win, against Portglenone we had to dig deep and we came out on the right side of another battle against Rossa.
“If it becomes a battle on Sunday, hopefully we can come out on the right side of that one too. We know that Cargin are a step up, they have got the better of us more times than we have got the better of them in recent years.”
The Lamh Dhearg team will not be named until tomorrow but Finucane isn’t expecting manager Declan Bunting to put any special plans in place for Erin’s Own.
“I don’t think we’ll approach the game in terms of one on one match-ups. Where do you start with Cargin?
“Kevin O’Boyle is one of the best defenders in Ulster, there’s Michael McCann, they have runners coming through from half back…there is quality throughout.
“We need to focus on our own strengths, stick to our game-plan and stay disciplined. Whatever team is named on Sunday, I’d have confidence in it.
“At the start of the year we took a long, hard look at ourselves. We hadn’t won a championship game in a few years and we knew this wasn’t where we should be with the talent we have.
“We didn’t set ourselves targets but as a team we said we would put the work in, work for each other and above all develop a team mentality at all costs.
“We are now in a senior championship final and could still win the league. There’s a great buzz about playing championship football in October.”
It will be Lamh Dhearg’s first final since 2011 when they lost to St Gall’s by three points.
Cargin are contesting their fourth final in six years, having lost the previous three to the Milltown side. Cargin are the only other club, apart from St Gall’s, to win the Antrim title since 1999, retaining it the following year and breaking St Galls’ dominance in 2006 when they beat Lamh Dhearg in the decider by a single point.
Finucane added: “We can go out and express ourselves. No-one outside our own club is giving us a chance, but if we bring what I know we can bring to Sunday then there will be a lot of surprised people.”
