Another showpiece in the Irish FA’s flagship intermediate competition has been decided, and the parallels from last year can already quickly be drawn.
It’s another all-Amateur League Final and another meet-up between two Belfast sides – and, again, it’s north versus west who will do battle at Windsor Park to win the Intermediate Cup.
Holders Crumlin Star have a distinguished recent history in the tournament and will target a third honour in five years in the National Stadium while, in contrast, their NAFL Premier Division rivals Immaculata are in the decider for the very first time as the Falls Road outfit bid to dethrone them.
What’s more, both arguably punched their tickets as semi-final underdogs. On Wednesday night, they both faced high-flying Playr-Fit Premier Intermediate League adversaries – Star encountered Queen’s University at Clandeboye Park, with Ballymacash Rangers serving as The ‘Mac’s foes inside Blanchflower Park – yet weathered any potential storms to run out victorious and tee up a memorable day.
Ardoyne unit Star, who have the Irish Cup-winning former Glentoran and Cliftonville boss Eddie Patterson steering them from the touchline, clinched their second crown in 2023 after a nip-and-tuck five-goal affair against St Oliver Plunkett.
Stephen Smyth and Kevin Lynch fired them into a two-goal lead before Michael Healy and Eugene Reid hauled Plunkett back level for a thrilling climax, with the nippy Smyth cementing his place in Star folklore when he re-established their advantage 14 minutes from time that they would not thereafter relinquish.
They wrapped up their first Intermediate Cup, incidentally, against their last-four opponents this year, overcoming Queen’s University through a last-gasp Paul Prigent strike in 2019, and on this occasion in Bangor, they defeated the Students by the same 3-2 scoreline as in their second victory – but this was no formality.
Indeed, Queen’s twice held the upper hand early doors, with Michael Withers slotting low underneath Star keeper Ciaran McNeill to break the deadlock, before the same player headed the south Belfast club back ahead after Dee Fearon blasted the side who now ply their trade at the redeveloped Marrowbone Sports Complex level on the counter-attack.
That all happened in the first 26 minutes and, shortly after the restart following Withers’ second, Star were dealt a blow when respected skipper Niall Hawkins was shown a straight red card by referee Richard White. It meant the first-time Steel and Sons Cup Finalists this term would have to play over an hour with 10 men – a daunting task; not that it seemed to faze them in the lead-up to half-time.
Five minutes deep into stoppage-time, Lynch was alert to the danger and powered home the second Star equaliser, and it took only one minute of the second period for the green-shirted charges to surge into the lead for the first time.
It was a spectacular at that. Queen’s had switched stoppers at the interval, with Nathan Kerr replaced between the sticks by Andrew Gawne, but the latter was already having to pick the ball out of his own net courtesy of a halfway-line blockbuster by centre-back and would-be Man of the Match Aidan Lillis.
The defender eyed an opportunistic effort from range after catching Gawne off his line and weighted his looping attempt to perfection, with just the right placement and dip to take the ball under the crossbar and in for Star’s third of the night.
From there, much of the remainder was characterised by Star digging in and defending, the numerical disadvantage scarcely eating away at their heart and determination as they aimed to maintain a threat on the break when they could.
James Lavery’s Queen’s had their chances but struggled to break down a stubborn block, as No.7 Chris Middleton fired marginally over the bar before Ciaran McNeill – whose brother Aidan was at left-back and other sibling Joe operates from midfield by trade – was called into action and made a massive save to deny Mark Anderson at the near post in a one-on-one.
Ultimately, there were not to be any further alterations to the scoreline, and when White signalled for the end of play, those of a Star persuasion were jumping for joy and already looking ahead to another Final date – the chance to retain their title as champions of a now-132-year-old competition.
Who would they be playing? Well, for having kicked off 15 minutes later – the game at Clandeboye started at 7.45pm, while the simultaneous joust in east Belfast had an 8pm beginning – there wasn’t much doubt when they glanced at their phones to investigate the goings-on elsewhere.
Goalless at the break at the Blanchflower, the floodgates opened after the interval and the goals flowed for Immaculata – enough to defy the on-paper odds and sink Ballymacash to rubber-stamp a historic occasion.
They were afforded a golden chance to open the scoring on 56 minutes, as referee Joseph Mullan pointed to the spot after The ‘Cash’s Mark Drysdale slid in on ‘Mac forward Brian Kennedy. His namesake Brian McCaul took the mantle and lived up to the billing, sending Brian Neeson the wrong way and despatching confidently to hand the NAFL side the initiative.
Five minutes later, it was two. Brendan Shannon was the hero this time and hit the target in some style.
Shannon lapped up a low cross to the edge of the box where he lurked, trapped the ball under his spell, swivelled in a tight space and fired a piledriver in off the underside of the bar to ram a second home for the Falls Road outfit.
Lee Forsythe’s Ballymacash had to conjure a response, and they thought they had one when top marksman Benny Igiehon powered home substitute Carl McComb’s cross, but the striker saw his header struck off after the linesman ruled offside.
A reprieve of sorts for Immaculata, but they subsequently made the most of it.
Having won the spot-kick, Kennedy went all the way this time and, having swerved his way out of a tight situation close to the byline, shot low across the face of goal and picked out the bottom right corner from a very acute angle. Cue bedlam; an establishment founded 90 years ago and who play at the Grosvenor Recreation Centre were on the cusp of celebrating a new club first.
It sparked a chorus of cheer from the ‘Mac faithful and, despite Igiehon intuitively flicking in from centre-back Jordan Morrison’s downward header 10 minutes from time that set up a grandstand finish, Lisburn outfit ‘Cash weren’t to make further inroads and their opponents’ celebrations continued long into the night.
Of course, those backing Crumlin Star and Immaculata, the respective third and second-placed sides in the Premier Division, will be hoping that the best is yet to come in what should be an evenly matched and keenly contested Final at Windsor Park.
For Ballymacash and Queen’s, fourth and fifth in the Premier Intermediate, they can’t afford to be too downhearted with the promotion race their sole focus until the season’s end, but the Intermediate Cup is not to be theirs in 2024 at least.
It’s another sign of the rude health the NAFL finds itself in and the date with destiny shouldn’t disappoint.
Tuesday, April 30, folks. After all the twists and turns, there’s still a last chapter to be written.
Featured image from Irish FA Website.
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