Toals Bookmakers Co Antrim Steel & Sons Cup final: Derriaghy CC 1 Willlowbank 0
From Brendan Crossan at Seaview
DERRIAGHY’S goal hero Jordan Malone paid tribute to his team’s defensive display after claiming their first-ever Steel & Sons Cup at Seaview on Christmas Day.
Malone struck the only goal of a tense final six minutes before half-time and a brilliant defensive rearguard action from Derriaghy saw them reach the holy grail.
The width of a post denied Willowbank an equaliser right at the death when defender Eamonn Hughes struck with his left foot just inside the area as the west Belfast men piled on the pressure – but the ball bounced away to safety and Derriaghy were champions.
In the final 15 minutes, substitutes Conal Maguire and Declan Gill had shots on goal for Willowbank who were also aiming to win their first Steel Cup having claimed the Border Cup last Christmas.
Owen Forsythe’s Derriaghy side were content to protect their one-goal advantage and rely on the counter-attack.
For their part, Willowbank enjoyed the lion’s share of possession but couldn’t break down the Derriaghy backline.
Second-half substitutes Oisin Crawford and Conal Maguire improved Willowbank’s fortunes as they chased an elusive equaliser.
“I feel so emotional,” said Malone afterwards. “It’s unbelievable. I love playing with these lads and I thought we deserved to win.
“I had a lot of people messaging me before the game saying I was 14/1 to score the first goal and I was saying I should be 200/1. To get the goal to win it and go down in history, I’m over the moon.”
For the winning goal, Malone won possession in the middle of the field, fed Steven Shearer on the left side of the Derriaghy attack before the ball was rolled back inside for the central midfielder to smash home from 25 yards.
It was a goal worthy of winning any final.
Even though Willowbank play in a division below Derriaghy in the Amateur League ranks, the west Belfast side were being tipped to lift the silverware given their dramatic rise in recent seasons.
But the Derriaghy defence, marshalled superbly by Joe Reid and Gareth Henderson, didn’t allow Willowbank’s livewire wingers of Ryan McAreavey or Christopher Heaney to get behind them.
“All season our defence has been brilliant,” said man-of-the-match Malone. “That’s a solid back four and they give us the freedom to play.”
In the closing seconds, Oisin Crawford of Willowbank was red-carded for his part in a melee just before the final whistle sounded.
While Derriaghy are in dreamland over this festive period, Willowbank will have nightmares over Hughes’s 97th minute shot that came off the base of the post at the railway end.
Derriaghy: J Nicholl, G Henderson, C Brown, B Moore, J Reid, J Malone (L Higginson 89), T Clarke (M Fell 78), C Black, N Napier, S Shearer (M O’Hanlon 81), N Beta Subs not used: M McAvoy, M O’Hanlon
Willowbank: C Kelly, M Reid, G Manson (O Crawford 72), E Hughes, C Manson, N Halfpenny, R McAreavey, P Devine (C Maguire h/t), T McCrory (D Gill 52), C Winchester, C Heaney Subs not used: R McAvoy, M Savage
Referee: C Murphy
