Blast from the Past.
Passage too strong for Dunbar in 2004/05 Saxone Cup decider.
Turners Cross 16.04.2005
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| Pictured before Saxone Cup final at the Cross (l to r): assistant referee Tony Thompson, Passage captain Kevin McCarthy, referee Tony Murphy, Dunbar skipper Gary Tobin and assistant referee Con Long. Murphy's Stout Saxone Cup final, Turner's Cross, 16.04.05, Dunbar Celtic 0 Passage 2. -- Billy Lyons |
SAXONE CUP FINAL
Dunbar Celtic 0 Passage 2
Youthful exuberance wasn't enough for Dunbar Celtic at Turner’s Cross on Saturday night and they were given something of a lesson by a more experienced Passage side who won the Murphy’s Stout Saxone Cup for the first time in the club’s history, scoring one in each half on their way to a 2-0 victory.
It wasn't that Passage were two goals a better team in this second division knockout final. Simply, Dunbar wasted their chances while Passage took theirs. It also helped Passage that they had a quality midfielder in Glen Sheridan, the man of the match.
Sheridan engineered both their goals. He put as much energy into his ninety minutes as any of the Dunbar kids but his was a controlled performance. He was involved in key moments of the game, including taking a shot off the line with the score at 1-0.
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| Passage. Saxone champs, for the first time. |
Dunbar’s young bucks tore in this one from the start but the Passage back four, which included forty-something veteran Brendan “Bags” Murphy, had seen all this before and played steadily. His colleagues hold Murphy in high esteem and it was no surprise that he was asked to go to the podium with skipper Kevin McCarthy for the presentation.
Indeed, it was Passage who had the first dangerous shot. That came in the 8th minute. A long free by Murphy broke to Martin Carroll but his shot from the corner of the box flew just over the bar.
Dunbar should have had scored ten minuets later. Then a cross from the right by Dunbar captain Gary Tobin found the defence stepping out. Kevin O’Sullivan eluded the offside trap, took the ball down and let fly from ten yards but his low drive skimmed the outside of the post.
Passage had a decent opportunity in the 24th minute. Then Paddy Lawlor raced away from his marker, ran along the 18-yard line and let fly across the keeper but Gary Duffy stuck out a leg and saved well with his foot.
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| A young Dunbar outfit lose to more experienced Passage at the Cross. |
The Dunbar defence were caught advancing in the 30th minute. Passage midfielder Glen Sheridan intercepted knocked the ball forward and ran on into the box. He slid the ball past the advancing Duffy but it was running wide of the far post until Steven O’Reilly arrived in the nick of time to turn it into the net.
Dunbar came within inches of grabbing a first half equaliser. In the 39th minute, a Tobin free cleared the defence but the straining Joe Healy just couldn’t reach the ball as it hopped tantalisingly past the far post.
Again Dunbar started the second half the better and Passage keeper Jason Green pulled off an important save two minutes in when he reached high to grab a shot on the turn by Chris O’Sullivan.
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| Getting away. Dunbar's Chris O'Sullivan gets away from Dave Burke. |
Dunbar kept the pressure on and, in the 49th minute, Green dived to turn a deflected shot by Wayne O’Donoghue out for a corner. Three minutes later, a Tobin corner broke to O’Donoghue and his intelligent chip from inside the crowded box had Greene back-pedalling, the keeper relieved when it landed on top of the net.
The city team came even closer in the 57th minute, again from a Tobin corner. The ball broke out to Kieran Malone and he let fly but Sheridan took his low shot off the line. Then Murphy escaped with a handball, which may or may not have been inside the box, and Dunbar had to settle for yet another fruitless corner.
Some uncertain defending, following a cross by Ian Cotter, almost cost Passage in the 65th minute. Keith O'Neill and Dave McCarthy each had a go and McCarthy’s close-in effort bounced to safety off the keeper’s shoulder.
Passage though weathered the storm and doubled their lead in the 69th minute. Again Glen Sheridan was at the heart of it. His quick free released Simon McGarry on the right. The defence were slow to react and the young sub raced into the box and slid the ball past the isolated Duffy.
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| Good catch. Passage keeper Jason Green makes a good catch under pressure from Kevin O'Sullivan. |
Passage, it seemed, had taken the sting from the Dunbar strikers. There was little for Green to do as the final quarter ticked away.
But Dunbar never gave up and Malone won a spotter with four minutes to go. Midfielder Chris O’Sullivan, quite a skilful performer who had his moments in this game, won’t want to remember what happened next. He drove the penalty over the angle and what could have been a few anxious moments for Passage and manager Jamesie Jordan passed off quietly until referee Tony Murphy brought and end to the lively proceedings.
Dunbar Celtic: Gary Duffy, Gary Tobin (captain), Wayne O’Donoghue, Joe Healy, Dave McCarthy, Ian Cotter, Kieran Malone, Chris O’Sullivan, Shane Brazier, Kevin O’Sullivan and Keith O’Neill. Subs used: Craig O'Leary for Brazier (54th minute), Michael O’Connor for McCarthy (68th) and Paul Walsh for K. O’Sullivan (85th).
Passage: Jason Greene, Neil O’Sullivan, Kevin McCarthy (captain), Brendan Murphy, Brian Sheridan, Chris Hammond, Glen Sheridan, Steve O’Reilly, Paddy Lawlor, Dave Burke and Martin Carroll. Subs used: Simon McGarry for Carroll (39th minute, injured), Dave O’Donovan for Burke (77th) and Brendan McCarthy for Lawlor (83rd, injured).
Referee: Tony Murphy; assistants: Tony Thompson and Con Long.
Happy Passage Manager Jamesie Jordan's Doubly Delighted....
Manager Jamesie Jordan was one happy Passage man – one of many - after guiding his side to victory in the final of the Murphy’s Stout Saxone Cup, the knockout championship for second division teams, at Turner’s Cross on Saturday night.
“I am delighted, delighted, thrilled for Passage soccer. And especially for the likes of ‘Bagsy’ Murphy there. He’s around a long time. I think people didn't give us much of a chance. We’ve been underdogs from the quarter-final on of this cup to now and we’ve proved a lot of people wrong. I think we were worthy winners here tonight.”
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| On the ball. Passage scorer Simon McGarry (r) is chased by Dave McCarthy. |
What was the turning point of the game? “Possibly the introduction of Simon McGarry. I think he turned the tide for us when he came on and he scored a great second goal for us. And he eased the pressure on the boys in the back. But the Sheridan brothers there tonight were outstanding as well.”
Jamesie agreed with the suggestion that Glen Sheridan was the man of the match: “Yeah, I wouldn’t fall out with that at all. But overall, all the lads were outstanding. We were well keyed up for this one. It’s great to get here to Turner’s Cross and you have to win when you get here. That’s what it is all about.”
Nice one for Bags? “Oh yeah, chalk it down. Delighted for Bags. He has been a great servant for the club and a great friend of mine. Hopefully he’ll stick with me and next year we could be here again.”
How are Passage doing in the league (2B)? “We’re doing okay. If we could play like that all season, we would be up there challenging for that title as well. But every second week we’re hot and then we’re cold but we’re delighted we got hot tonight!”
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| Jim Cashman (Heineken) presents the Murphy's Stout Saxone Cup to highly respected Passage veteran Brendan Murphy (left) and team captain Kevin McCarthy |
Mick Cotter is assistant to Dunbar player-manager Paul Walsh. He was disappointed, naturally: “We left it after us, didn't take our chances. I thought too that the scorer of their first goal was offside, having run ahead of the other fellow. But we’ll be back.”
Certainly, Dunbar have the youthful talent to make an impression in the near future. But it will have to be nurtured carefully if they are to get the best return. The lessons of Turner’s Cross on Saturday last will have to be absorbed.
Indeed the Dunbar kids could well learn from the performance of man of the match Glen Sheridan. Dunbar themselves had some handy performers in midfield but Sheridan matched them for energy and outmatched them in terms of skill, guile and alertness.
It wasn't just fitness and energy that got him into the right place at the right time. His reading of the game was top class. He was in the right place to intercept and set up the opening goal for O’Reilly. When the pressure was on, he dropped back to help the back four, generally playing just in front but, in the 57th minute, he popped up on the goal-line to kick clear a shot by Kieran Malone. If that had gone in, Dunbar would have been level and would have had the momentum.
The contest was still finely balanced at that point but Sheridan tilted it firmly in favour of Passage with that quickly taken free kick in the 69th minute, showing an awareness normally seen and then only rarely at a much higher level. That free sent inter-league youth ace Simon McGarry in for number two and Passage were on their way to their first ever Saxone triumph.
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