By Jonathan Brown
NADAFL Harry Clarke Cup final
Ardglass v Downpatrick
Monday, 1.30pm, Meadowvale
This year’s Harry Clarke Cup final pits two teams battling it out for the Newcastle League Premier Division title against each other – Downpatrick and Ardglass.
Both sides are more than familiar with each other, having faced off in last year’s Harry Clarke and KitRoom Cup finals, with Ardglass winning both, 4-1 and 4-0, off the back of a thrilling Bobby Dalzell final in 2023/24 which saw a 4-3 triumph for the ‘Glass. They also met in this season’s KitRoom Cup semi-final, and again Ardglass won 4-1.
Ardglass’s path to the final included wins over Ballynagross, Strangford, and Drumaness Mills Reserves, while Downpatrick overcame Ballynahinch Olympic Town, Celtic Bhoys Academy, and Killough.
Co-manager Aaron Beattie says his Ardglass team don’t fear Downpatrick, given the recent run of results against them. “Downpatrick always give us a good game, although I always think we have the better of them. So we don’t fear Downpatrick. They have a lot of young players who attack in numbers, you know exactly what you’re going to get with them. But we’ll be well set up and ready for it.”
Beattie watches Downpatrick on a regular basis as his son, Taylor, is on their books as a goalkeeper, and he’s wary of the threat posed by two of Downpatrick’s teenage players and veteran Declan Dowie, a former teammate of Beattie’s at Ballynagross.
“Declan is getting on a bit, but he knows where the net is. Morgan McCoubrey is a real threat alongside their centre midfielder, Nathan McCallister. He’s a great player. They’re the two key players for me, and they can cause us more of a threat.”
Downpatrick co-manager Mark Holland says the Premier Division table toppers present a challenge, but believes his young team are capable of finally getting their win over Ardglass come Easter Monday.
“They’re top of the league and they’re Harry Clarke holders, so we’ll take nothing for granted, it’s going to be a very tough game. They’ve got some good players but it’s up to us. If we perform the way we know we can, we can beat anybody on our day.”
However, Beattie believes the cup final dominance his team have displayed over Downpatrick will impact Holland’s players.
“I think Downpatrick have a bit of pressure on them. I’ve been talking to a few of their players, and they’ve been saying that they hate playing Ardglass, because we always seem to get the better of them on the day. I think it is in their head, getting to all those finals and not getting any trophies out of it. They need to get over the line and get a trophy, but I think it’s definitely going to be harder for them to do that.”
Former Cliftonville and Killyleagh star Holland has seen it all in football and doesn’t see Ardglass as a bogey team, instead focusing on his own team’s mindset in the second half of games. Holland referred to this season’s disappointing 4-0 defeat to Castlewellan Forest in the Bobby Dalzell final.
“We’ve played really well against Ardglass in the past, and Aaron knows that, but I’ll go back to the Bobby Dalzell final. It was 0-0 at half-time, then all of a sudden we’re 2-0 down at the start of the second half and we hit the self-destruct button. Myself and Kevin Trueman (Downpatrick co-manager) have drilled it into the players for this game – ‘don’t let your heads go down.’”
Yet it hasn’t been all plain sailing for Ardglass in recent weeks either, following a shock 5-1 defeat to Strangford in the KitRoom Cup final.
“The boys know they didn’t perform on that night. You can take five subs and we took four young players and gave them all a run out, which probably didn’t help us on the night, but it’s good for them to play a final. But we definitely won’t be taking any chances in the Harry Clarke, it’ll be a different ball game altogether,” Beattie, who manages the Ardglass team alongside Peter O’Shea, explained.
Holland, after so much cup final heartbreak in recent seasons, says his Downpatrick side must come of age and take home the trophy they’ve been coveting.
“People keep telling us we’re not far away from winning a trophy, but it’s about getting our boys over the line. The quality is there in the side and there’s a bit of experience there as well, so we just can’t put our finger on why we can’t win in finals. In a cup final, you get beat by the better team on the day, and you have to take it on the chin, but I’m sick of taking it on the chin to be honest. It’s time to step up and get over the line. We’ve got to put that right. It’s there [the ability to win a trophy] but the players have to believe it’s there and believe in themselves.”
Playing into the intrigue of this year’s final, the result could have repercussions for the Premier Division title race. Ardglass, who defeated Castlewellan Forest 6-0 on Saturday to move clear at the top of the table, are being hunted down by Holland’s side, who lie four points behind in third after hammering Drumaness Mills Reserves 5-1. Downpatrick have three games in hand on Ardglass – two of those games are against the men in red, with Killough, Drumaness Mills, and Strangford all in the title mix alongside the Harry Clarke finalists.
“Downpatrick are a young team and they have this monkey on their back. If they get beat again, we still have to play them twice in the league. So, if we can get one over them, I don’t think they’ll relish playing us again,” Beattie explained.
Holland, however, believes it’s too early to be drawing conclusions like that.
“I take each game as it comes. I don’t want to look too far ahead. You can’t write Strangford or Killough off either at this stage, I believe there’s four teams pushing to win the title. There’s still a lot of football to be played and a lot of points to play for.”
But what both managers could agree on – it’s always special to be involved in a Harry Clarke final. Holland, who scored both goals in Cliftonville’s 2007 County Antrim Shield final win over Lisburn Distillery and netted the winning goal in the InterToto Cup defeat of FC Dinaberg, the first European win in the north Belfast side’s history, said “nothing would bring more satisfaction” than if he could bring the Harry Clarke Cup back to his hometown.
“It’s always a special occasion. I’ve won a lot of cup finals, and I’ve been beaten in a lot of cup finals, but there’s nothing that would bring more satisfaction to me than winning a trophy with my hometown club.”
The manager of the reigning Premier Division champions and Harry Clarke Cup winners has been involved in multiple Newcastle League finals as a player and manager with both Ardglass and Ballynagross.
“It’s always nice to get to a final, and as a player it’s far better, but as a manager, you’re doing it more for the young players. You’re giving them a chance to showcase themselves and hopefully get a few medals in their bag to tell people about in years to come,” Beattie explained.
