MULLAGHBAWN’S last senior title in Armagh came in 1995 and their most recent final was two years later. Despite dethroning reigning champions Clann Eireann on Sunday, the Cuchulainn’s – who meet Granemore at the quarter-final stage - remain well down the list of favourites for this year’s Gerry Fegan Cup but their one-point win was another sign that the south Armagh club is an emerging force in the Orchard county.
Peter McDonnell’s side won promotion to Division 1A this year and they wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer in a nail-biting finish at the Athletic Grounds on Sunday. The match was all-square when Shea Loye, who had earlier netted the game’s only goal, scored what proved to be the winning point.
“We knew we had a fighting chance,” said the pacey frontman.
“Everybody kind of wrote us off but we knew what we had and we knew that if we worked hard and did what we were told in training we could come out on top.”
In the first half, Mullaghbawn stuck to manager McDonnell’s plan. They got the ball in their hands and kept it and kept it, patiently breaking Clann Eireann down and putting six points on the board before the Lurgan men managed their first score.
“That’s the way we’ve been coached to play,” said Loye.
“We try not to force anything and it did work but it wasn’t easy. You have to prepare for every game well, work on the basics and do what you’re told and have a gameplan for every different team. The fact that Clann Eireann were county champions makes it (winning) a wee bit sweeter but it’s only one game and we have two weeks now to get back to training and get ready for the next round.”
Loye’s goal early in the second half sent his side 1-7 to 0-4 ahead but Clann Eireann showed the fighting spirit that saw them capture the Gerry Fegan Cup last year and came roaring back in the final quarter. The game was level and heading for injury-time when Loye kicked what proved to be the winner.
“We went back to basics and tried to hold onto the ball,” he said.
“We tried not to give it away but we did give it away a couple of times near the end and we just had to dig deep and we got through it.”
His goal was an opportunist effort that after forward partner Eddie English had mishit his shot. The ball spun off English’s left foot and the Clann Eireann goalkeeper dived but couldn’t hold on and poacher Loye was there to side-foot his finish into an empty net.
“Right place, right time,” he said.
“There’s nothing to it, no skill involved, I was lucky enough I just had to tap it in. We missed one in the first half and we needed to take that one – in games like this you have to take them and we were lucky to get that second chance, thankfully it went in and we were able to hold on.”
Loye and English added the finishing touches to an all-round team performance from Mullaghbawn. The underdogs began with an intensity that Clann Eireann found it difficult to match and the foundation was laid by their hard-working defence.
“We were tenacious,” said Loye.
“We got our man-marking jobs spot on today and you’re not going to give the likes of Conor Turbitt space and I thought we did very well on that. Every one of their forwards are good and you can’t give them time on the ball, you have to get in on top of them and we very good at that today.”
