Dominant Foyle Harps crowned 'Burkey Cup' champions

Foyle Harps 6 ... Ballymac Celtic 1

Foyle Harps cruised to a dominant win over Ballymac in this year’s Thomas ‘Burkey Cup’ final at Oakland Park.

All the damage was done in the first 30 minutes of Thursday’s final, and especially in a devastating period which brought three goals in just seven minutes to ensure that the result of this final was never in doubt, even with an hour of the game still to be played.

It was as impressive a final performance as could be hoped for from Harps, who gave their opponents no encouragement at all, leading for all but 45 seconds of this final from start to finish.

Ballymac, managed by Derry City legend Paul Carlyle, were very much the surprise package of the tournament, causing a big upset on the first day of the competition by dumping out hosts and holders Trojans on penalties. Boosted by that, they then proved to be too strong for Phoenix Athletic in the semi-finals, winning 3-0 to set up their first Burkey Cup final appearance.

IN PICTURES: Foyle Harps crowned Thomas Burke Perpetual Cup (Burkey Cup) winners

Harps had a more straightforward route to this year’s final, defeating Lisahally in the quarterfinals before seeing off Creggan Swifts in the last four, a 3-0 victory which automatically made them the favourites heading into Thursday’s final.

Harps enjoyed the perfect star to this final as they opened the scoring in the very first minute of the game, Gareth Brown racing through on goal and keeping his composure to place the ball under Marty Gallagher and into the net.

That was the extent of Brown’s contribution to this final unfortunately as he left the pitch just five minutes later injured, replaced by Jamie Dunne.

It was all Harps in the opening stages and they continuously threatened a second, with Ballymac having to defend well to protect their goal in the face of an onslaught. That resilience served them well, as they then went up the other end of the pitch and equalised with their first attack of the game. A rash challenge in the area almost gave referee Marty Dunne a decision to make, but he played on and that allowed Scott Rice to let the ball run across his body before placing it high past Conor Brown and into the net to make it 1-1.

Harps remained the more adventurous team of the two and they all but finished this final with a blitz of three goals in just seven minutes to completely deflate Ballymac.

They regained their lead 23 minutes in and although Marty Gallagher did brilliantly to push away a fierce drive from Sean McCarron at his back post, the rebound went right across goal and straight into the path of substitute Dunne, who was delighted with his luck as he smashed the ball into the net from close range.

Ballymac players were struggling to keep up with the movement of some very experience players, and that was exploited when Harps made it 3-1, Calvin McCallion playing a one-two with Ryan Doherty before racing through to find the net with an inevitable quality finish.

By this stage, Ballymac needed a half-time whistle which was still a long way away, and they fell even further behind when Dunne’s corner kick found Doherty, who powered in a header from close range to make it 4-1 with just half an hour played.

The heart was gone from Ballymac after that and not even that half-time break could restore any belief that they could pull this one back.

Foyle Harps remained on cruise control for the entirety of the second period, as they eased towards a comfortable and deserved final win, putting their name on the Burkey Cup in emphatic fashion when Sean McCarron finally got his goal in the closing stages of the contest.

Even then, they were not content, and Calvin McCallion showed great hunger to latch onto a through ball to score his second goal of the game, his finish a final flourish on an overwhelming performance from the new Burkey Cup champions.

Trojans and the Burke family would like to sincerely thank the competition sponsors; Main sponsor Impact-NI, Complete Accident Management and Secondary sponsors Xfit Gym, McKeevers Newsagents, Bay Road Soccer, and Raymond Gurney Automotive. Other sponsors are Cooleys Jewellers, Extreme Bounce and Elite, James McDermott Joinery, Citypaints, and Mouldings Direct.

MAN OF THE MATCH:- Ryan Doherty contributed a goal and an assist in the first half to take this game away from Ballymac. He provided a superb final pass to set up Calvin McCallion and he then powered in a header to ensure there was no way back for Harps’ opponents.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH:- Ballymac’s hopes were dashed as early as the first minute in this cup final when Gareth Brown went through on goal and put Foyle Harps ahead. It was the last thing that Ballymac, already underdogs, needed. 

TEAMS:- Foyle Harps: Conor Brown, Aaron McLaughlin, Gareth McFadden, Shane Boyle, Rhys McDermott, Ryan Doherty, Gareth Brown, Niall Fielding, Sean McCarron, Calvin McCallion, Oran McLaughlin. Subs: Tiernan McKinney, Colm Paul Robb, Jamie Dunne.

Ballymac Celtic: Marty Gallagher, Ryan Morrow, Andy Devlin, Seamas Sharkey, Scott Rice, Tommy McBride, Raymond Rogan, Michael McCrudden, Kyle Curran, Dean Sweeney. Subs: Blaine McDid, Jonha Whoriskey, Matt Harkin, Eamon Doherty, James Gillespie.

Officials: Marty Dunne, Eamonn Harrigan, ark McGarrigle.