North Tipperary and District League Review

SOCCER: North Tipperary & District League Premier Division – Ricky Fogarty Cup Final

Clodiagh Rangers 1

Borroway Rovers 0 (AET)

Report: Gary Culbert at Michael Fennell Park, Templemore

Clodiagh Rangers have very much had a season of two halves and on Saturday evening in this Ricky Fogarty Cup final, the game was very much a microcosm of their season as in a game of two halves as the Drombane side weathered the Borroway Rovers storm before netting the only goal of the game in extra time to win the NT&DL Premier Division Cup.

Favourites Borroway Rovers dominated possession in the opening stages and had some fine chances fall to Jake Moore and David Bourke, but neither of the usually clinical forwards could find a way past Adrian Cooke in the Clodiagh goal.

Clodiagh’s main avenue of attack in the first half was a hopeful flick on from an Adrian Cooke free-kick. To their credit, their fast counter-attacks were causing Borroway some problems, especially when the ball was knocked down to the feet of their nippy roaming playmaker John Ryan, who covered every blade of grass.

Borroway have been delivering results beyond even their own wildest expectations this season in the league, perhaps achieving these levels week in week out has taken its toll on this relatively small squad at this stage of what has been a long season because Paul Gould’s side really lost their way in the second half and allowed Clodiagh a foothold.

It would be incorrect to say that Clodiagh did not have to be asked twice to take the lead; Eamon Maher’s side missed two glaring chances towards the end of normal time. Both seemed harder to miss but credit to Mick Mackey too as he stood tall to deny Paul Doyle in the 70th minute and Michael John Carroll ten minutes later, ensuring extra time was needed.

From early on you always felt that it might take a set-piece to break the deadlock, and on the stroke of half-time in extra time it was Michael John Carroll who made amends for his earlier miss by scoring a fine header from a corner. The winger showed great movement at the back post to turn his marker Seamus Woodlock inside out before running to the front post and nodding in Mathew Stakelum’s corner.

Jake Moore had a very good chance to force the game to penalties, but it wasn’t meant to be. The biggest disappointment for Borroway Rovers in this final will be that there was no grandstand finish where they laid siege to Adrian Cooke’s goal, instead they almost ran out of ideas, and their lack of quality from the bench did not help the situation. Matthew Stakelum impressed for Clodiagh, but the man of the match was John Ryan, it was his quality on the ball that gave the Drombane men belief throughout that they could nick a goal.

Clodiagh played as an effective, solid unit, were defensively strong and called on goalkeeper Cooke to bail them out when needed. This historic cup final win is the first of Clodiagh’s final three games of the season that for all intents and purposes are all cup finals, with their next focus being on avoiding relegation in the league next Sunday against title-cashing Killavilla United and if they do it could allow in Borroway Rovers to win the league should they get the better of Rearcross in their final game.

Player of the Match: John Ryan (Clodiagh Rangers)

Clodiagh Rangers: Adrian Cooke; Sean Stakelum, Connor O’Brien, T.J Butler, James Griffin; John Carew, Brian Hanrahan, Matthew Stakelum, Michael John Carroll; John Ryan, Paul Doyle.

Subs: Mike Quinlan for Doyle (18 ET); Hugh Purcell for Carroll (25 ET).

Borroway Rovers: Mick Mackey; Curtis Ryan, Seamus Woodlock, Conor Loughnane, Aaron Cullen; Jamie Ferncombe, Damien Troy, Shane Dunne, Gary Dunne; Jake Moore, David Bourke.

Subs: Tom Rykala for G Dunne (70); Dean McCormack for Troy (82); Shane Turner for S Dunne (5 ET).

Referee: Robbie Nevin.