Cookstown seconds win Irish Junior Cup

ON Saturday, Cookstown seconds travelled to Banbridge to face Annadale in the Irish Junior Cup final hoping to win the prestigious trophy for the first time since 1985.

Buoyed by a perfect league record and a huge support, Cookstown delivered a near perfect performance to see off their opponents and bring the trophy back up the road.

The first quarter saw chances come and go for both teams; Josh Anderson made a terrific save from David Tremlett while Greg Allen’s goal bound effort was cleared off the line but it remained 0-0.

The second quarter saw Cookstown take a firm grip of proceedings as Davy Atkinson put the red socks 1-0 up. Davy, a contender for Man of the Match, dispatched his drag flick much to the delight of the watching crowd.

Raymond Miller soon made it 2-0 as he played a brilliant 1-2 with Mitchell Greer and fired on the reverse to give the keeper no chance.

As the game started to stretch, Cookstown found more space to exploit but the rhythm of the game was disrupted as a few heavy tackles produced a number of cards.

In fact two of these tackles led to a red card for Annadale’s Spencer Pinion in the last quarter as Andy Barbour rolled back the years with his silky skills.

Cookstown led 2-0 at half-time and that’s how it stayed until the middle of the last quarter when that man Atkinson stepped up again with another drag flick to settle the final once and for all.

A few more chances came and went, for both teams, but Cookstown’s defensive resolve and attacking prowess gave them the edge on the day as they lifted the Irish Junior Cup a few weeks after also lifting the league trophy.

In what has been a terrific year so far for Cookstown, the 2s still have one more trophy to play for when they contested the League Cup final last night (Wednesday) when they hoped to complete the treble.

Squad: Josh Anderson, David Best, David Atkinson, Godfrey Irwin, Mark Wilson, Gavin Donaldson, Richard Nelson, Gareth Thom, Greg Allen, Stevie Allen, Raymond Miller, Mitchell Greer, Richard McGaw, Alan Carson, Andy McWhirter, Andy Barbour, Les Allen (coach) and Richard McLaughlin (manager).