Irish Cup Final 2022

Words Natalie Bowles

SEMI-FINAL After the fine comeback against Larne in the previous round, expectations were high prior to Ballymena’s trip to Mourneview Park. Neither Ballymena nor Championship side Newry City created many clear-cut opportunities in a lacklustre affair. Controlling the ball proved difficult as it spent most of the first half in the air. Half-chances were created by Ballymena from free-kicks but none troubled the Newry goalkeeper. The second half started with the Sky Blues upping the ante, and seven minutes after the restart they scored the match’s only goal. An unstoppable 25-yard free-kick from McCullough put his team in the lead and it proved to be the winner. Then Brendan Barr prevented a Newry counter attack, which caused outrage among Newry players and sparked a brawl on the pitch. Once things calmed down two Newry players were shown yellow cards and Ballymena’s KymNelson received a red for his involvement in the melee. With 15 minutes still left on the clock, and only 10 men on the pitch, the Braidmen put all their efforts into defending. There was an intense end to the game with a few heart-in-mouth moments for the Sky Blues fans, however McCullough’s strike and a textbook defensive performance were enough to send Ballymena to the final.

QUARTER-FINALS With six goals and a penalty shootout, Caolan Loughran became the hero in a quarter-final to remember. Larne started strongly. Lee Lynch shot first-time from the edge of the penalty area and an unlucky deflection sent the ball over Sean O’Neill into the net. Less than 10 minutes later Lee Bonis controlled the ball from a 40-yard pass and kept it low on the half volley to double the visitors’ lead. Larne almost increased their lead further but O’Neill blocked Scott’s shot and the rebound was fired over the crossbar. McElroy then pulled one back from the spot, confidently scoring in the 25th minute to provide a glimmer of hope for the home side. Larne defender Albert Watson almost took the game out of reach by scoring from a corner on the half-hour mark. The Sky Blues did not lie down though and Steven McCullough had a shot pushed onto the bar. Before the break McCullough drove forward again and delivered the ball for David Parkhouse to head into the net, reducing the gap to one goal. After the break Ballymena had an opportunity to equalise when McElroy intercepted a poor kick from Conor Devlin but the Larne stopper recovered well and blocked the shot. The only goal of the second half came from Place whose free-kick from the touchline floated over the goalkeeper into the net. After a pretty uneventful extra time period, penalties were reqiuired to determine a winner. O’Neill saved two spot kicks and Loughran slotted in the decider.

15

www.irishfa.com