Laverty Cup – South West Antrim Minor Football
Con Magees, Glenravel were crowned Laverty Cup champions on Sunday after a convincing victory over current holders Creggan in terrible weather conditions in Rasharkin. The weather may have been dismal but the talent on show from both sides was anything but as these young lads put on a display of fast moving football combined with high fielding and slick passing that defied the slippery conditions and served up a feast of delightful football for the hardy souls who braved the elements to cheer on their team. On the day Creggan had exceptional individual talent but Glenravel were able to match that and had more strength in depth which eventually saw them crowned champions.
Creggan opened with a point form Aiden McIlwee which was cancelled out by Glenravel’s Peader McDonald. Back came Creggan with their star man Conor Johnston whose speed on the ball gave the opposition plenty to think about over the hour. Glenravel equalised through Colla Ward who had an excellent hour’s football and the same player stretched the Con Magees lead with fifteen minutes gone on the clock. The lads in green and white were starting to dominate across the pitch playing into a fairly strong breeze and that dominance paid dividends when Peader McDonald finished a fine move to the net for the game’s opening goal. Back came Creggan with a point from a deflection which diverted a goal bound shot over instead of under the bar. But Glenravel’s dominance was beginning to show and a brace of superb points from influential full forward Daire Higgins put Con Magees firmly in control on a scoreline of 1-05 to 0-03 with twenty minutes gone. Creggan needed a lifeline and Shea Devlin delivered that for them with a well taken goal to leave two points separating the teams. Oisin McKeown and Tristan McCann traded points before Daire Higgins popped up again with the final score of the first half. Both teams retired to the shelter of the changing rooms with Glenravel ahead by three points having played into a fairly stiff breeze.
The second half started as cagey affair with Creggan chasing scores and Glenravel determined to keep them out. Both sides traded points in the opening ten minutes before Colla Ward blasted to the top corner to give Glenravel a six point lead. Things were beginning to look bad for the Creggan lads but they were handed a lifeline when Shea McCann blasted a penalty to the net to half the deficit. McCann proved to be a real threat across the sixty minutes and despite ultimate defeat this lad has a very promising future for Creggan providing a display silky skills throughout the sixty minutes on a day when silky skills were hard come by. With one quarter of the game remaining and only three points separating the teams it really was all to play for to see who would eventually lift the Laverty Cup. Callagh Mooney stretched Glenravel’s lead to four – Mooney too had an impressive afternoon’s football defying the difficult conditions and providing a pivot off which the lads in Green and White could really benefit from. With twelve minutes of the match remaining Daire Higgins delivered the final blow as his piledriver found the net and effectively put the game beyond doubt. Fintan Close would tag on a couple of points for Creggan between which Glenravel’s Joe McKay slotted over a free. At this stage Creggan were adopting Route One tactics with an aerial assault on their opponents goal but time and time again the lads in green and white defended heroically. So when referee Karl Doherty called time Glenravel had won with a six point margin.
Creggan might look back at some missed chances in this game but eventually the better team won on the day. It must be said though that, despite challenging conditions, both teams served up some exceptional football underlining why both had made it to the final. The 2023 champions certainly didn’t yield their crown lightly but longer term both Clubs will look to build on the talent on display in Rasharkin in the hopes that it can deliver positive results longer term.
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