Northern Switchgear Antrim Senior Football Championship final replay: Lamh Dhearg 0-23 Cargin 3-16 (AET)
From Andy Watters at Corrigan Park
NIGHT was closing in when an epic Antrim Championship came to a thrilling end and Cargin, resilient and stubborn, clinched a title they will treasure.
If there had been floodlights, they’d have been on; if there had been seats, the spectators would have been on the edge of them on Saturday evening. The surface at Corrigan Park is excellent but this showpiece can be added to the pile of evidence that Casement Park must return and Cargin came out on top in a quality final against an excellent, battling Lamh Dhearg outfit.
The Hannahstown side's tally of 23 points is testament to the skill of their forwards but they conceded three goals and, in a game of small margins, that was too generous.
Level after normal time, level again at half-time in extra-time, the title boiled down to the final 10-minute period (referee Darren McKeown played 14 minutes). Cargin trailed by a couple of points when McKeown threw the ball in but they dragged energy, heart and belief from somewhere and won it by two.
“That’s two games in-a-row where there has just been tremendous heart in the lads. You just can’t buy that stuff,” said manager Damian Cassidy, after his men had clinched the league and championship double.
“To see that, to see players coming out into a cauldron, gladiators in front or three or four thousand people. They had to show their character and their worth.
“There aren’t that many places in life where you will expose your character. You might have problems at home, or work or in other places but this is one place where your character is going to be stripped bare. That is the auditorium that you’re in and you let everybody see what you have.
“The Cargin men have demonstrated last week and this week that they have serious, serious character.”
It was cruel on Lamh Dhearg. They could not have given more throughout this campaign and were pipped at the post on Saturday.
“The boys are gutted, they’ve put in a massive performance all year,” said manager Martin Lynch.
“Cargin are champions and well worthy. I want to congratulate them, they’ve done brilliant for Antrim and when you get a point more, you win the match.
“The winner today is Cargin and then Antrim football. I’m proud of the effort that these boys have put in.”
From the throw-in the tackling was at the ferocious level required in a county final and there was no let up over almost 100 minutes of relentless action in an absorbing end-to-end, man-on-man clash between two evenly-matched sides.
Lamh Dhearg goalkeeper John Finucane was in the thick of it early on. He rushed off his line and fouled Ciaran Bradley. Tomas McCann sent the free wide but Finucane’s subsequent short kick-out was fumbled by Padraig Mervyn and McCann was onto the ball in a flash.
He picked his spot past Belfast’s Lord Mayor to get his side off to a dream start.
Lamh Dhearg shrugged off the setback impressively and took control at midfield. Points from Paddy Cunningham, the outstanding Conor Murray and Eoin McKeown had the Hannahstown men level after 12 minutes.
James Gribbin edged Cargin back into the lead before Cargin’s McKeown equalised with his second point. The sides continued to trade blows (in every sense) and it was level again at 0-7 to 1-4 when Cargin hit their second major of the half. Once again it was preventable.
Ciaran Bradley tried his luck from distance and the ball dropped short, Finucane and Mervyn collided as they went for it and burly full-forward Magill was able to tap the ball into an empty net.
Again Lamh Dhearg shrugged off the mishap. Terry McCrudden pulled a point back and Michael Herron’s interception from the kick-out allowed Ryan Murray to cut the deficit to a point – 2-4 to 0-9 – at the break.
Cargin surged into a five-point lead in the opening stages of the second half. Ciaran Bradley raced down the right wing and fisted the ball to the far post where Magill was waiting to bury the chance. Again Lamh Dhearg showed their bottle and registered five of the next six scores.
Conor Murray’s score levelled it at 3-6 to 0-15 with 47 minutes go and Cargin ’keeper John McNabb saved brilliantly from Ben Rice to prevent his side from going behind.
But the sending off of Rice (for a black card after he’d previously been booked) and the introduction of Ciaran Close swung the momentum Cargin’s way. Former Antrim forward Close clipped over a free with his first touch and added two points from play. Another from Bradley meant Lamh Dhearg trailed by four points with the 60 minutes almost up.
Once again Lamh Dhearg rallied. Five extra minutes were signalled when Cunningham scored a free and the time was 30.11 when Conor Murray cut the lead to two.
Cargin goalkeeper McNabb was injured as he bravely grabbed a high ball and the clock read 34.26 when Cunningham converted another free. 37 minutes had gone and the Cargin bench was imploring the referee to call time when Conor Murray was brought down. Ice-cool Cunningham did what he usually does – kick the ball over the bar – and Lamh Dhearg were in extra-time again.
The energy of the Hannahstown battlers, who needed two replays to get past Portglenone in the semi-final, was all the more remarkable given that manager Martin Lynch used just one substitute in normal time. Another, Ryan Stranney, came in for the red-carded Rice for extra-time as both sides returned to full-strength.
Cargin veteran Tony Scullion was also back in the fray but Lamh Dhearg, retaining the momentum from their thrilling finish to normal time, went ahead for the first time when McKeown slotted over. Was their name on the cup? Cunningham missed a goal chance and two points from Cargin’s McShane and Conor Murray’s reply meant the game remained deadlocked at the interval.
As their manager Cassidy said, Cargin showed their character in the final period, both sides did. Tomas McCann’s point and a Close free sent them two ahead but Lamh Dhearg would not, could not, go quietly. Conor Murray continued his masterclass with a point from the touchline, to leave one in it with 90 seconds left.
Gerard McCorley grabbed the breaking ball from the kick-out and Tomas McCann’s free left two in it again. Nerves were shredded, nails were bitten but despite pleas, curses and demands from the Cargin bench and supporters, the game continued. Lamh Dhearg won a free, surely Cunningham had to go for goal? He kicked it over the bar. And still they played on.
Fourteen minutes were on the clock above the scorebard when Jamie Gribben scored his third point of the game.
Finally the referee blew his whistle. Despair for Lamh Dhearg, joy for Cargin who face Derrygonnelly in the Ulster Championship next Sunday. Can they play like this again? If they do they’ll take some beating.
Cargin: J McNabb; D McKeever, M Kane, J Laverty; T Scullion, J Crozier, K O’Boyle; G McCann, P Shivers (0-1); P McCann, M McCann, C Bradley (0-1); T McCann (1-5, 0-2 frees), M Magill (2-0), J Gribbin (0-3)
Subs: J Carron for G McCann (10), C Close (0-4, 0-2 frees) for Shivers (50), M Clarke for Scullion (56), K McShane (0-2) for M McCann (60); Scullion for D Johnston (ET), Shivers for Magill (71), G McCorley for Kane (78)
Yellow cards: Scullion (12), M McCann (32), Shivers (43), Gribben (54)
Black card: P McCann (34) replaced by D Johnston
Lamh Dhearg: J Finucane; C Nolan, P Mervyn, M Herron; M McGarry, D Lynch, B Rice; C Murray (0-7), M Jordan; E McKeown (0-3), K Quinn, T McCrudden (0-1); P Cunningham (0-8 frees), D Dunne (0-1 45), R Murray (0-3)
Subs: P Larkin for Nolan (HT), R Stranney for Rice (ET), M Finnegan for R Murray (83), C Maxwell for McKeown (88)
Yellow cards: B Rice (41), D Dunne (43)
Black card: B Rice (52)
Red Card: B Rice (52)
Referee: D McKeown
