Setanta Cup Final: Cork City 2-Glentoran 1

Mon, 3 Nov 2008 19:40:05 -0600

After a tumultuous, roller-coaster ride of a season, Cork City were crowned all-Ireland champion in front of their home fans at Turner's Cross Saturday. Despite the St. Anne's End being ruled unfit for fans, Glentoran brought down a sizeable contingent of away support from East Belfast, and the Cork support came out in numbers to give the match the cracking atmosphere it deserved. And it was Glentoran who came out firing, and opened their advantage after only 12 minutes, albeit through a suspect call by the referee. Dan Murray seemed to have been fouled by Glens forward Gary Hamilton, but the foul was called on City's captain, giving Glentoran a free kick from a threatening angle. Kyle Neill hit it past the wall, and past the arms of an outstretched Mark McNulty, to send the Glens fans into raptures, a dream start for the JJB Premier League outfit. The rest of the half saw the sides fight doggedly for possession, although Cork did seem to be wearing them down. However, it remained 1-0 Glens at half-time.Alan Mathews must have said something right to his charges in the dressing room, because City came out a team possessed for the equalizer. Dan Murray made up for his foul in the 57th minute, finishing off a beautiful cross from Danny Murphy from short range, bringing the Cross alive and passionately celebrating with his team mates. From then on, it seemed the question was when, not if, City would take the lead, and Liam Kearney didn't disappoint. Alan O'Connor's superb cross found Denis Behan unmarked at the back post, and he skillfully headed it over to Kearney who finished from about a yard. The Conna Maradonna was mobbed by his team mates, and Cork City looked destined to lift the trophy. Glentoran struggled to create pressure, and when the final whistle blew City were crowned champions of Ireland. After all the players, fans, and management have been through this year, there could not have been a more perfect end to this season. Alan Mathews adds his second trophy to the cabinet in his first year (the other being the Munster Senior Cup), and although tough times may be ahead as City face the prospect of losing many of their best players because of new owner Tom Coughlan's potential wage setup, this day will surely stand out for the Rebel Army.

-Andrew McCarten