COOKSTOWN ARE THE CHAMPIONS
Cookstown were crowned Ravenhill Cup winners on Saturday with a hard fought win over a dogged and determined Ballynahinch Evergreens side. Against the toughest opposition they have faced this season, the Cookstown men had to pull out all the stops to secure victory.
The opening quarter of the game was dominated by the experienced Hinch outfit. Their forwards took the game to their Cookstown counterparts and this paved the way for them to open the scoring after 15 minutes with a well worked try in the corner for a 5-0 lead. Cookstown had the opportunity to respond with a penalty but the chance was missed. Cookstown didn’t panic though and the forwards gave Hinch a taste of their own medicine with a driving maul from a lineout resulting in a touchdown for Kyle Campton. This was converted for a 7-5 lead. The half time whistle sounded soon after and both sides were appreciative of the break after a bruising first half.
Cookstown came out strongly for the 2nd half and despite another missed penalty attempt, Cookstown managed to stretch their lead with a try from Andrew Reid following a chip through from Ciaran McKenna. Cookstown took their foot off the pedal as the Hinch out half began to pin them back in their own 22. Following a sustained pressure of pressure, they managed to close the gap to 12-8 with a penalty in front of the posts. This was as close as they got to overturning the deficit as Cookstown went down the field and Daniel McElroy scored a trademark try to extend the lead and secure the title for his side. The final 5 minutes were nervy for Cookstown but they managed to close the game out and the referee’s final whistle was met with great celebrations from the Cookstown players.
A delighted Liam Currie and Kezzy Nugent lifted the trophy and Currie said after the game, “It was another full blooded affair against a hardy and very streetwise Hinch team. I thought things looked ominous in the opening 15 minutes, the lineout was malfunctioning and the Hinch were dragging us into a close quarter game. However conceding an early try proved to be the shot in the arm we needed. As the boys lifted themselves to play the game on their terms and respond with an excellent set piece move. It was only a matter of time before we managed to break away for another two in the second half after some inspirational words from Plunkett McCallan at the break.
This cup win is the very least these boys deserved, their commitment has been unreal and when the wheels threatened to come off following the cup exit, they knuckled down with a new impetus. That was in no small part down to the role that Stewart McCalmont played. He saw a weakness in our conditioning and whipped the boys into shape in such a small space of time; our fitness was clearly the difference between ourselves and Hinch. It would have been easy to have a relaxed easy session this week after beating Malone in the semi but he worked the boys doubly hard. It stood us well.
It’s great to finally get a cup win for the club, in our 25th year which incidentally coincides with the same anniversary of our main sponsors, Keystone and Keylite, Sean Coyle of course being a long standing member of the club.
We have been knocking on the door for some time having made a number of finals but coming out on the wrong side. It’s great to finally cast the bridesmaids tag off.
We have seen all types come to the club with big ideas and their hands out, but when the going got tough they were nowhere to be seen. This cup win has been the culmination of a number of years of hard work by good club men. It was just a few seasons ago lads like Dave Weir and Darrall Donaghy had to fight tooth and nail to put a team out and keep the club going. That spurred the development of the club both on and off the pitch; we didn’t always get success but we stuck at it. Last year Stevie Rea and I shared the captaincy, getting to Ravenhill was great but the defeat left us deflated. This year Kevin Nugent (in between holidays and Man Utd games) and I worked on player recruitment and skills development to create a strong squad that could deliver silverware. The cup win was a just reward for all those years of toil.
I would like to thank each of our sponsors and local businesses for their kind financial support throughout the year, this successful year would not have been possible without their assistance.
We look forward to moving up a league next season and taking on a new challenge.”
The club would also like to thank to our loyal photographer Daron Paterson for the pictures, the Four Corners, Brackaville for their post-match hospitality and the many supporters who came out for the past 2 weekends to support the lads.
