By Justin McCormick
The date, 7th July 2019. The venue, Father Healy Park, Loughgiel. The occasion, the annual Glenbush McCrackens v Corkey Mitchells hurling final. Corkey the current holders, full of south parish swagger and having enjoyed a year of gleeful gloating. McCrackens collective ego bruised and battered emerging into the harsh sunlight of a bright July Sunday. What had gone on in the intervening 12 months, rumours of Corkey men living it large, champagne lifestyles and rumours of only having to turn up. McCrackens an old beaten team, best days behind them, just how big a cricket score would it be? The man in the middle carefully selected for his sartorial elegance and ebullient verbosity, making the short journey over the sheugh, none other than our esteemed Cuchullain Vincent Boyle.
A tale of two McGarrys, Justin the Bird from the Pound looking after the Southies and Steven Arlic (Biddy in exile) steering the Nordies. The only thing the two had in common apart from their family names was their expanding waistlines. The Mitchells not long returned from a warm weather training camp on the sunny slopes of Drumkeel while the McCrackens made do with some strength and conditioning work at the Glen Bar.
The day would start auspiciously for the McCrackens with their sister camogie team having secured the honours earlier in the day, retaining their trophy after a career defining exhibition by the bear in the square Brigid Watson (forever dispelling the notion that son Liam took his ability from his father’s side and that well known hurling stronghold of Armoy village).
The ball was thrown in and the first casualty of the day was Declan McFadden’s stick as the tone was set for the day, splintering ash exploding into fragments. Mitchells’ Terence O’Mullan found himself in some space but saw his shot drop short into the capably energetic hands of McCrackens’ goalkeeper Eugene ‘Yogi’ McKinley. Eugene Patterson gave his marker Adrian ‘Tiny’ McCollum the slip to open the scoring for the southmen after team-mate Collie Smyth found him with a sublime low ball. Good work from nippy corner forward Terence O’Mullan saw him dispossess Steven Blair and make his way in on goal, however the 21-yard line would prove a bridge too far as Carl ‘Sid’ McCormick introduced himself in a rather agricultural fashion. Seamus ‘Crow’ McNaughton stepped up to take the resulting free on the 21, only to see his effort sail low, wide and ugly, to the incredulity of the onlooking crowd.
A trim looking JP McMullan at left corner forward for the McCrackens was distributing balls with the efficiency of a barman on the left flank, with PJ ‘Babs’ O’Mullan doing a one-man defensive job in the Mitchells’ goal. Emmett ‘Hemill’ McFadden was proving tenacious and swift on the short poc, while Karl Casey and Steven Blair were combining well on the McCrackens’ full back line to keep their opponents at bay. Jerome McKendry was a willing domestique at centre back, while Chris Dobbin and Niall ‘Chunky’ O’Hagan led the peloton with their selfless work and eye-catching sprints. It has been said that Gerard ‘Cubby’ McAuley always played his best hurling in a red jersey, but unfortunately not today. Steven McGarry soared high into the rarefied Loughgiel air for a long looping puckout only to hit the earth hard, minus a luminous green boot and whatever remained of his dignity. Liam McFadden and PJ combined to keep O’Hagan at bay, only for Cubby to stroke over the resulting 70’. Terence O’Mullan wasn’t getting much protection from the referee as he soon found himself deposited to the turf by his opponent Blair, the Mitchell men soon coming to realise that maybe these McCrackens weren’t just there to make up numbers after all.
Some fine interplay on the Mitchells side saw them take a four-point lead as Collie Smyth pointed, followed by a close-range Enda ‘Cooney’ McGarry major. A further point by the marauding Smyth spelled danger for the north men as the gap stretched to five points. Things would go from bad to worse as target man Jarlath McGrath was taken off injured and Paudie McAuley scored a dubious free for the Mitchells. Plan B was called by the McCrackens’ manager Paddy McIntyre, Collie Smyth identified as the danger man, and something had to be done. At the first opportunity, Niall O’Hagan wrestled him to the ground and made off with his bottle of fake tan, throwing it over the fence into Patsy McAleese’s field. Smyth would play a much lesser part in the game, and McAleese’s Charolais bull was now a Simmental.
Aidan ‘Jeff’ McCloskey led the fightback and played the energised O’Hagan in on goal for him to dispatch a low rasping shot to the net, closing the gap to just 3 points. From the ensuing poc out, O’Hagan made a handful of himself to square a ball to Owen McFadden who levelled the scores with a finely taken goal. Game on!
Mitchells took the lead again through Martin Casey after excellent work by Hemill McFadden, but their lead was to be short lived as Jerome McKendry set up the compact Dobbin for an equaliser. This score encouraged Dobbin to reach new heights as he set up McCrackens’ captain Arlic for a fine point which put the McCrackens into the lead for the first time in the match. The men of the Glen smelled blood and would go into half time two points up after an Aidan McCloskey point.
Half Time Score – McCrackens 2-04 Mitchells 1-05
Tough words in the Mitchells dressing room at half time, pride called into question and passions exhorted to new levels as the southmen took to the field. McCrackens grim faced and calm, the game plan appeared to be working, but would they be able to last the pace against the breeze in the second half. A fascinating second half awaited.
Determined to make up for his earlier embarrassment, Crow rattled the McCracken net with an early goal after fine work from his Corkey counterpart McAuley. McCrackens hit back with a point immediately through the lively Ciaran ‘Murphy’ Laverty, the auctioneer ‘sold’ his opponent Paddy O’Boyle a dummy, leaving him flailing in his wake as he dispatched the ball over the bar. The Mitchells would roar back into the lead again with a Sean Lynn goal from close range, after a long-floated ball from Joey Quinn. The normally unflappable Paul Glackin able to deal with the first ball but not the rebound, though he may have been somewhat restricted by the modern player fit style jersey. Chris Dobbin and Enda McGarry would exchange points to maintain the Corkey lead at 3 points at the midway point in the half. The introduction of Hugh ‘dark cloud’ McCann bore fruit as he split the posts to reduce the deficit to 2 points (McCrackens were told they were getting a good hurler called McCann from Glenravel and naively accepted the transfer). Ciaran Laverty took his personal tally to 1-1 as he majored from close range after good work from Arlic, only for Kevin ‘Swevy’ McGarry to level the sides yet again. McGarry (the only Mitchell from north of the Lough road) would shoot his team into the lead again with a fine long-range effort, proving that the match was far from over.
Good approach play from McCann for the McCrackens set up the nimble Dobbin for a well taken goal which saw the McCrackens take a 2-point lead with less than five minutes to go. Terence O’Mullan was now the out ball for the Mitchells after his reintroduction at corner forward. He would fall for the third time after close attention from McKinley in goals but was not to be denied as he caught the next high ball and shot narrowly over the bar to reduce the deficit to just one.
The excitement was palpable as the game entered its final minutes, could the McCrackens hold on for what would be an unprecedented double or would the wily Mitchells fashion an unlikely victory from the ashes of defeat?
Owen McFadden spent the last of his energy to set up his captain for a well taken goal which would take the McCrackens into a four-point lead with only seconds remaining. The elation on the faces of the Glenbush support was soon replaced by agony as the ever dangerous O’Mullan latched onto a break ball to bag another Mitchell major.
The deficit only one point, the referee indicating injury time being played, the coronary care ambulance on standby from the Robinson hospital.
But it was the McCracken goalkeeper who would have the final say. Yogi McKinley would deny an absolute certain goal from fox in the box O’Mullan in the dying seconds. Diminutive in stature but now immense in reputation, the legend of Yogi was born.
A McCracken double in the year of 2019. What will next year bring….?
