ACFL Division 1A
Portglenone 0 – 13 Creggan. 0 – 09
When County and Casements treasurer Donal Murphy presented the magnificent Eddie Fitzsimons Memorial Trophy to Casements joint captains Niall Delargy and Ryan Convery at the end of this final round game of the All county Div I league, a huge cheer resounded from a large gathering of local Gaels in O’Kelly Park, Portglenone this afternoon.
Whilst many in the crowd remember the late Lamh Dhearg clubman Eddie with fondness, Murphy poignantly asked the assembled throng to take a moment and also remember the recent passing of club sponsor Paddy Fullan who was taken suddenly from this life just a few weeks ago.
John Mc Keever’s men had done enough over the previous hour to ensure there would be no last minute collapses, no heart in mouth moments that this club and panel has had to endure in recent seasons. In doing so they will go into the annals of history by being the first club from the Bannside town to bring home grade A silverware in senior football.
Creggan players and supporters stayed behind to sportingly recognise the occasion, having used this route to build their own momentum that ended up delivering their own big one, the McNamee cup for the senior championship only three years previously.
If the moment will be captured for a long time in the memory, the game itself will certainly not. It was hard to know what Creggan were bringing to the tie, it being a bit of a dead rubber, but to be fair they kept their hungrier opponents honest throughout, particularly Paddy Coey who chipped in with a total of six points throughout the hour.
Casements started nicely, going into a five point lead by the end of the first quarter and maintaining this until referee Kevin Parke blew his half time whistle, 0 -08 to 0 – 03 in favour of the hosts, a feature being the excellent long range free taking from in form Paddy Kelly.
Any nerves amongst the large home support who had gathered hoping to see a bit of history being made were dispelled when Casements started the second half in style. Within five minutes the gap had grown to eight, courtesy of a quickfire double from the hugely influential Niall McKeever and an impressive long range effort from Ronan Kelly.
Creggan hadn’t come just to join the party, firing over four of the next five scores as a little bit of apprehension set in. Aidan McAleese joined the fray, returning from a recent injury and immediately made his presence felt by tapping over to release the pressure.
A dazzling solo run from impressive Casements captain Niall Delargy allowed Mc Aleese to double his tally with a fine effort, and from here on it was just a case of managing the game out for the last five minutes.
Casements will enjoy their night, and deservedly so, whilst Gerard McNulty will reset and go about his business of producing a Creggan team who will rightly enjoy championship aspirations as the summer progresses.
Casements: Ryan O Neill, Ronan Delargy Daniel McNicholl, Jonny Convery, Caolan Tierney, Niall Delargy, Ruairi Hagan, Stephen Kelly, Niall McKeever, Ciaran McKenna, Michael Hagan, Ronan Kelly, Ciaran Mc Aleese, Oisin Doherty and Paddy Kelly. Subs introduced. Aidan McAleese, Conall Delargy, Shane Delargy.
