Four-midable Tobermore finally get their hands on Craig Memorial Cup
Churchill United 1
Tobermore United 4
AFTER a five-month delay the North West Craig Memorial Cup Final finally took place with a rampant young Tobermore side stamping its authority on the game from the outset.
For Tobermore boss Johnny Law the match was all over at half time when his team came off the pitch with a 3-0 lead.
“The game was won in the first half”, he declared. “Churchill looked tired and beaten going into the break, so it was just a matter of us keeping our heads up in the second half.”
Traditionally played on Boxing Day the final had to be postponed on a number of occasions, owing to severe weather at the start of the year.
The home side went on the attack early on with three clear scoring opportunities in the opening ten minutes.
Churchill responded with Robbie Godfrey crossing into the box from the left to Cathal Deery whose strike was blocked by keeper Sammy Foster.
Neil Lamont just missed the target in the 22nd minute with a close range drive that strayed over the Churchill cross bar.
Deery got close to scoring in the 27th minute after he rounded a couple of Tobermore defenders and fired just wide of the upright.
Tobermore got the opener in the 33rd minute when Chris Magill stabbed home at the near post after the keeper palmed down a high ball into the area from Lamont.
Barry Kelly scored a sensational volley three minutes later to stretch the lead for the Fortwilliam Park outfit.
And a minute before half time Neil Lamont struck a fine shot from the left which ended up in the far corner of the net.
After the restart, Lamont again tested the Churchill defence with two good chances in front of goal in the opening 15 minutes.
Niall Cooke got Tobermore’s fourth in the 62nd minute when he finished off a Lamont strike which had rebounded off the advancing keeper.
Danny Gardiner almost made it number five with a super strike from 25-yards that just edged wide of the far post.
A piece of slack marking at the back allowed Deery to score Churchill’s consolation goal with around 15 minutes remaining.
Afterwards, Law praised his team and said it was “a good feeling” to win a trophy at the end of the season.
“Our formed dipped after Christmas but we managed to turn things round again and will probably finish sixth in the league,” he said.
Law says his side will have a few weeks off before getting ready for the new season again towards the end of June.
Tobermore Club chairman Raymond Beatty said: “I’m particularly pleased for Johnny and the lads that they finished the season with silverware, as for a while after Christmas it looked as if their early season good form was going to count for nothing.
“Full credit to Churchill for getting to the final, as they had to beat Limavady in the semi, but they met us in another run of good form with three wins and a draw from our last five games and I think we deserved our name on the cup.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has helped us in any way throughout the past season and special thanks to our fans and our sponsors for their support and we look forward to seeing you all again next season.”
Tobermore United: Foster, McComb, G. Campbell, Marks, Whiteside, Donaldson, Kelly, Gardiner, Lamont, Cooke, Magill. Subs: J. Campbell, A. Campbell, Bradley.
Churchill United: Brown, Ross, Devine, Simpson, McCabe, P. McColgan, Morrow, Dunlop, Deery, Godfrey, Doherty. Subs: S. McColgan, McGarrigle, Wray.
Referee: Eddie Ferguson, Coleraine
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Weather for Belfast
Thursday 09 February 2012
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