Ardglass win Harry Clarke Cup in classic derby clash

23 April 2025

ARDGLASS put Downpatrick to the sword as they claimed the Harry Clarke Cup in an action-packed final and kept their treble dreams alive.

They drew first blood, surviving a series of scares and opening the scoring through captain Michael Magee.

William Taggart quickly responded for Downpatrick, before Pabhraig O’Shea restored Ardglass’ advantage in the lead up to half-time.

The Downpatrick men seemed to have resigned themselves to defeat prematurely, failing to come out of the blocks in the second half, and Magee and Shea Dorrian strengthened Ardglass’ grip on the silverware.

The first half was tightly contested and while Downpatrick showed they meant business in the early exchanges, the opening goal just would not fall for them.

Skilful winger Nathan McAlister was causing trouble early on and his winding run led to a clearance that fell to Shea Holland, whose thunderous strike forced a heroic block.

Downpatrick talisman Declan Dowie was next to try his luck, meeting a clever through ball and speeding into a one-one-one battle with goalkeeper James Crangle, but he could only find the side netting.

Another defence-splitting pass found McAlister in the fifth minute and while he showed composure to beat his man, the same could not be said when it came to the finish.

Downpatrick could have had three goals in the opening 10 minutes and they came close once again when Dowie collected a loose ball in the box and let fly, calling Crangle back into action.

Ardglass were riding their luck exponentially before they got the cogs turning, but they soon showed their opponents the importance of taking your chances, snatching the lead against the run of play.

Their first corner of the match fell to Aidan Watson on the edge of the box and although his ferocious half-volley was stopped by an impressive Taylor Beattie save, Magee followed in to tap home and break the deadlock in the 16th minute.

Minutes later, a phenomenal pass from Pabhraig O’Shea set Dara O’Shea free down the right wing and he would have doubled the scoring, was it not for a goal-line clearance from Conn Farrell.

Downpatrick knew they would have to put their earlier wasted chances behind them if they were to stop Ardglass from running away with it, and so they did.

A free kick found its way to Holland at the back post and his effort resulted in Crangle palming into the path of Taggart, who levelled with a simple finish.

However, the parity was short-lived, as Malachy Crangle’s free kick was flicked on by Magee and Pabhraig O’Shea made the most of a goalmouth scramble to edge Ardglass’ noses in front at half-time.

Ardglass maintained a strong grip on the contest when the second half got underway and it still remains to be seen how they did not increase the deficit when they had three clear-cut chances in the space of 10 seconds.

Two of their efforts were scuffed at the vital moment and Dara O’Shea should have done better than smashing straight at Beattie.

The match began to become heated and it was surprising not to see the referee brandish red cards when Magee and Treacy engaged in a feisty exchange.

The second half largely failed to live up to the hype provided by the first and while it was hard to see a route back into the match for Downpatrick, Ardglass were not quite finished.

Beattie was commanding in punching a cross away from his goal, but the clearance only went as far as Magee and the Ardglass skipper rippled the back of the net with an outstanding half-volley.

The game was well and truly settled as a contest in the 83rd minute, when the ball bounced out to Dorrian and he took one touch, before launching a rocket into the bottom corner.

Ardglass’ fire-power proved too strong for a Downpatrick side that were left to rue their wasted chances.

The Harry Clarke Cup is the first piece of silverware ticked off in their hunt for a treble, with the Premier Division title within reach and the Kitroom Cup still up for grabs.

Ardglass: J Crangle, C Mahon, M Crangle, J Deegans, S Dorrian, D O’Shea, P O’Shea, J Beattie, M Magee (captain), K O’Neill, A Watson.

Subs: R McKinney, M Clarke, R Cusack, S Carr, R Carson.

Downpatrick: T Beattie, S Holland, C Farrell, H McCarthy, C Campbell, B Treacy, N McAlister, J Montgomery (captain), W Taggart, D Dowie, S Duggan.

Subs: J Tumelty, C Deegan, T Carson, N McShane, M McCoubrey.

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