Tipp Cup completes historic quadruple for BT Harps

SOCCER: North Tipperary & District League - Kevin Fogarty Tipperary Cup Final

BT Harps 4

Ballymackey 2

Report: Gary Culbert in Rearcross

BT Harps completed an historic NT&DL quadruple on Sunday by overcoming Ballymackey for their second cup final success in as many weeks in the blue-ribboned Tipperary Cup final.

Ballymackey put in a much-improved performance this time round, punching well above their weight to take this game right down to the wire.

The scoreline does not reflect just how close George Haverty and Damien Bentley’s charges came to forcing extra time, with Harps keeper Kuba Beben forced to pull off an outstanding save in the final ten minutes to deny Aidan White an equaliser.

Sunny Rearcross was the perfect setting to draw the curtain down on what has turned out to be one of the most drawn-out NT&DL seasons in recent memory. The Tipperary Cup final marked 317 days since BT Harps got their season underway against Villa FC in the Munster Champions Cup, way back at the start of August 2025.

It was quite apt then that there were further delays for the final game of the season as a massive funeral in Rearcross pushed kick-off back twice, including on Sunday when it became apparent that the original hour-long delay should extended by another quarter of an hour out of respect.

When the game did eventually get underway, BT Harps did not delay in finding the Ballymackey net. It was a move straight off the training ground: everyone was sure that Sean Paddy Guerains was going to go for goal from twenty yards out, but instead the skipper went short to Joe Bourke, who cushioned a cross-come-shot onto the crossbar. Like any good striker, 18-year-old Ryan Loughnane was in the right place at the right time to convert the rebound from two yards out.

Despite being behind inside the opening ten minutes, it became apparent that Ballymackey had brought a lot more fight compared to the Ricky Fogarty Cup final. The most influential change was the physically imposing Cathal Delaney moving from centre half to central midfield, where he could influence the game more.

At the top end, young James Kenneally was proving that size doesn’t matter, as he fought well above his weight in every tussle with former League of Ireland man Sean Paddy Guerins.

As ever, Harps were fired up too, with the result being relentless high pressing from the wasp-like trio of youngsters at the top of Ryan Loughnane, Jack Johnson, and Cormac Foy.

Harps had not done much since taking the lead, in fact it was Ballymackey who were in the ascendancy up to the half hour mark, at which point their endeavour was rewarded.

The equaliser came from some quick-thinking by James Kenneally, who went low with an unorthodox corner kick delivery to the feet of Aiden White with the NT&DL’s leading top scorer spinning on a six-pence before firing a lethal snapshot between the legs of his marker and beneath the keeper, for his 32nd goal in all competitions this season.

Just when things were looking up for ‘Mackey, they inexplicably conceded almost immediately, and from another set-piece. Harps skipper Guerins heading home at the back post following a diagonal ball by Dylan Cody. Again, the defending from the underdogs left a lot to be desired, both in the match-ups that were chosen and the tightness of marking.

Alas, Ballymackey would have to climb the mountain once more. They would have levelled on the stroke of half-time from another corner kick were it not for an exceptional reflex save by Kuba Beben to Aiden White.

The Ballinree boys were not to do denied for long though, as there was nothing the league’s top keeper could do to stop Damien Bergin’s powerful header from the resulting corner. Colm Maher this time providing the ammunition for the Ballymackey stalwart to head intuitively into the ground and beyond the sprawling frame of Beben, 2-2 at the break.

There was another assist for Cody on the hour mark and another goal for Rhys Loughnane, his fourth in as many crucial end-of-season games. There was no surprise as to who won back possession, Cormac Foy. The attacking midfielder’s quality on the ball is immense and equally matched by his desire to win it back when his team are out of possession. On this occasion, Foy’s tackle saw the ball squirt free to Dylan Cody, who lofted on over the top for the ever-willing runner, Loughnane, whose front post effort through the legs of the defender caught Brendan Hayes off-guard.

There was very little between the sides in the second half and Ballymackey would have been fully deserved to level, indeed Aidan White thought he had done just that in the 85th minute, but the huge hand of Beben rose into the Rearcross sky to deny him his second goal. What made the save all the more impressive was just how quickly Beben recovered from his initial save to deny James Kenneally. In truth, his status as signing of the season was all but secured but his performance on the final day put an exclamation mark on his new title.

With two minutes remaining, Rhys Loughnane latched onto a ball over the top in search of a goal to complete his hat-trick, but the ball ran all the way through to the keeper - in any case, the linesman’s flag was up so it would not have counted.

Harp’ keeper Brendan Hayes was allowed to play on as it is deemed an advantage for him to have the ball in his hands following an offside. Unfortunately for the net-minder, with the mixed messages from both sides of the pitch, he missed the referee’s raising of both arms to signal an advantage. What he didn’t miss however was the raising of one arm by the referee, who was letting the unfortunate keeper know that the countdown had begun. This new 8 second rule was introduced at the start of the season by FIFA to stop goalkeepers from time-wasting.

Of course, one arm raised in the air is the universal sign for an offside, and that coupled with the volume of the noisy Harps fans – who had admittedly been in Brendan Hayes’ ear for the entirety of the second half – may have been so loud that he thought the whistle had gone and he had not heard it.

Ultimately, the raw facts of the matter are that the luckless keeper threw the ball out to the area where he thought Ballymackey were awarded a free-kick, but Ryan Loughnane, like any good striker, was alert and had the ball in the net before most of the opposition players knew what had even happened.

It was a disappointing end to what had been a competitive contest, but the BT Harp’s brains-trust of Henry Newman and Mark Fennell didn’t care. Their three-year stint concluded with the lifting of four trophies in one season, adding this Tipperary Cup to the Premier Division, Ricky Fogarty Cup, and Shield titles.

Player of the Match: Jack Johnson (BT Harps)

BT Harps: Kuba Beben; Sean Purcell, Jack Kennedy, Sean Paddy Guerins (Capt), Cain Russell; Dean Lawlor, Dylan Cody, Cormac Foy; Jack Johnson, Ryan Loughnane, Joe Bourke.

Subs: Rhys Loughnane for Cody (64); Christopher Ryan for Purcell (66); Brian Mitchell for Bourke (76); Bill Collier for Russell (87).

Ballymackey: Brendan Hayes; Cathal Spillane, Damien Bergin (Capt), Ben O’Dwyer, Stephen Cantwell; Adam Steed, Cathal Delaney, Cormac Doheny; Colm Maher, Aidan White, James Kenneally.

Subs: Sam Rosney for Maher (67); Davy O’Brien for Cantwell (69); Jack Kenneally for Doheny (80); Liam Hogan for Spillane (86).

Referee: David Butler.