Ballymackey break BT Harp's stranglehold on silverware in Division 1 final

North Tipperary & District League - Division 1 Shield Final

Ballymackey FC A 2

BT Harps A 0

What’s rare is wonderful. Having not laid a glove on BT Harps in the Premier Cup final just three months ago, only to lose out to the Templemore men again just a week after in the Tipperary Cup final, Ballymackey finally got the monkey off their back on Sunday morning in the NT&DL Premier Shield Final.

This was a coming-of-age performance in which key signings in important positions proved their value ten-fold. Taylor Duffy in goal was flawless, pulling off an important save right at the start of the second half when the game was in the melting pot. Darragh McDonnell at centre half went about his business efficiently and without much fuss, sweeping up anything that Eamonn White left behind - which wasn’t much.

Duffy, McDonnell, and Alonso were all new in the door from Nenagh AFC’s second team, whilst new signing Darragh Spillane made up the rest of what was an entirely new back four and goalkeeper from last season.

In front of that, however, were five men who felt all the pain and hurt of Harps completing the NT&DL quadruple at their expense just three months ago, and it was an unlikely hero who stole the show.

Much like Ballymackey, Cian Galvin has often been criticised as a nearly man; great up until the final pass or shot. On Sunday morning, the fastest player in the NT&DL had his best performance, terrorising his full-back Lorcan Campion from the very first minute, and providing a very effective out-ball for the home side.

Indeed, it was Galvin who broke the deadlock just after the hour mark, tapping home at the back post after young James Kenneally fizzed in a low ball from the left flank. The 24-year-old got in front of his man to cushion the ball beyond the stand-in keeper from close range, unleashing celebrations which showed all the years of pent-up hurt against this opposition.

The Ballinree men had only taken one point off Harps in their last 10 meetings, so it was no surprise that they began to sit deeper and deeper after taking the lead. Again, Duffy was called upon to claim high balls from set pieces, denying Sean Paddy Guerins amongst others.

Yet for all Harps huffed and puffed, they failed to create any real clear-cut openings - you could say there was an Eanna McBride-shaped void in Johnny Coleman’s attack.

With time running out, the quadruple winners had to throw caution to the wind if they were going to retain their shield, and it was during this chaos that substitute Colm Maher curled home to double the home side’s joy with mere minutes left on the clock.

The Shield competitions in the NT&DL are often wrongly referred to as a pre-season tournament, but both Ballymackey and BT Harps played this final at an intensity and physicality that showed huge respect for the Premier Shield, denouncing those claims once and for all.

Ballymackey must view this as only the start, as they aim to knock Harps off their perch in the upcoming league campaign. Harps, on the other hand, will not be hitting the panic button quite just yet, as there are plenty of players from last season yet to return.

The sides will meet again in Templemore for the second round of the Munster Junior Cup, with the match to be played on or before the 11th of October.

Ballymackey: (4-2-3-1): Taylor Duffy; Paddy Alonso, Darragh McDonnell, Eamonn White, Darragh Spillane; Cathal Delaney, Adam Steed; Jack Kenneally, James Kenneally, Cian Galvin; Aidan White.

Substitutes: Colm Maher for Jack Kenneally (45); Dennis Haverty for Cian Galvin (75); Johno Lawlor for Adam Steed (84); Ben O’Dwyer for Paddy Alonso (88); Liam Hogan for James Kenneally (91).

BT Harps: (4-5-1): Cian Sheedy; Lorcan Campion, Kailum O’Meara, Sean Paddy Guerins, Joy Foy; Joe Bourke, Dylan Cody, Dean Lawlor, Bill Collier, Cormac Foy; Ryan Loughnane.

Substitutes: Jack Johnson for Billy Collier (45); Sean Purcell for Joe Bourke (60); Bo Feehan for Ryan Loughnane (84); Eimhin Ward for Joe Foy (88).

Referee: David Butler

Linesmen: Robbie Nevin, TP Sullivan