Chris Johns (GK), Conor Pepper, Mark Haughey, Jimmy Callacher, Matthew Clarke, Niall Quinn, Jamie Mulgrew ©, Cammy Palmer, Kirk Millar, Joel Cooper, Shayne Lavery (Christy Manzinga 73')
Alex Moore (GK), Michael Newberry, Ross Larkin, Mark Stafford, Navid Nasseri, Jordan Stewart
Conor Mitchell (GK), Tomas Cosgrove, Joshua Robinson, Albert Watson, Dean Jarvis, Fuad Sule, Jeff Hughes (c), Lee Lynch (Mark Randall 52'), Martin Donnelly (David McDaid 45'), Ronan Hale (Jonathan McMurray 66')
Linfield won the prestigious Irish Cup for the 44th time in the Club’s rich history tonight with a 2-1 win over Larne in the final, which was staged at Mourneview Park due to pitch maintenance at Windsor Park ahead of the proposed UEFA Super Cup final.
The Blues were deserved winners with strong performances from one to eleven and, arguably, 2-1 was a flattering result for Larne who didn’t have any answer to Linfield who won their battles all over and looking dangerous on the break.
David Healy’s men made the best possible start. They were unlucky to be denied initially as Shayne Lavery’s pace got him onto a ball beyond the back line into the channel and knowing he didn’t have an angle for a shot, he squared it back to Cammy Palmer but the midfielder was denied by Conor Mitchell who is a big lad in the Larne goal and he used his frame well to make the block. However, there was nothing Mitchell could do when Niall Quinn whipped in a great swirling corner and Shayne Lavery volleyed home at the back post in the fourth minute for his 30th goal of the season.
Larne were limited to very little. Ronan Hale’s turn and shot following a Herron pass was comfortable enough for Chris Johns. Johns watched on as Jeff Hughes met a Martin Donnelly corner at the front post but his header flashed across goal.
The Blues doubled their lead on 32 minutes with a well-worked goal. Niall Quinn once again showed his class and versatility, and in this move he slipped it to the overlapping Conor Pepper whose really made the most of his recent opportunities after a spell out of the team. Pepper whipped in a great cross, and although Lavery agonisingly didn’t quite reach it, Joel Cooper was coming in behind to squeeze a low shot beyond Conor Mitchell who got a touch on it.
Half Time: Linfield 2 – 0 Larne
Linfield didn’t sit back, in fact they went for a third straight from the off in the second half and a spell of relentless pressure followed. The Blues players were queuing up in the middle with Cammy Palmer having a shot blocked and Kirk Millar seeing his volley deflected just wide. Then from the resulting corner Joel Cooper got across the front post and had a good effort with a header which flashed wide.
Shayne Lavery was very unlucky not to make it three. He slipped it left to Cooper who advanced and tried to pick out the head of Niall Quinn in the middle and his header sat for Lavery whose attempted header was brilliantly pushed away from the top corner by Mitchell.
Larne had made a sub at the break in search of a route back into the game with David McDaid replacing Martin Donnelly, but still, they weren’t getting a sniff. A further sub ensued on 52 minutes with central midfielder Mark Randall replacing attacking midfielder Lee Lynch in an attempt to gain some control, but again, Mulgrew, Palmer and Quinn continued to win the battle.
Linfield had a penalty appeal waved away when Matthew Clarke hit the ground, claiming to have been pulled back when he was about to reach a through ball by Joel Cooper. Then Larne had a temporary lift with David McDaid forcing a good save from Chris Johns who dived to his right to beat away a left-footed half-volley. Moments later Fuad Sule whistled a sweetly-struck 30 yard strike just over the bar.
The Blues were comfortable and opportunities were presenting themselves on the break as Larne chased the game. On this occasion Joel Cooper’s attempted through ball for Shayne Lavery was brilliant but to his credit, Larne defender Josh Robinson got a vital last-ditch tackle in when he needed to. Joel Cooper was immense on the night, particularly defensive with what seemed like 10 slide tackles and he didn’t lose any of them, but he was frustrated when the ball fell kindly from Kirk Millar’s corner and he mishit his shot.
The winger threatened again, knocking the ball beyond Albert Watson and using his pace to go through on goal. Conor Mitchell showed indecision and opted not to come and meet the winger, but he was still rightly off his line, however, this helped him narrow the angle and once again he used his frame to make a good save.
Linfield were comfortable throughout, but it was ironic but when The Blues beat Larne in the league a few months ago, Jeff Hughes pulled a late consolation goal back to make it 2-1 and that was the case again tonight. It came from a controversial corner in stoppage time that was awarded when Albert Watson seemed to head Mark Randall’s free-kick delivery just past the post without any intervention. The ball was put back into the area by Sule and after a scramble Jeff Hughes slotted it home. Too little, too late for Larne as Linfield win the Irish Cup for the first time since 2017.
It was nice to see fans back in the ground, with 1,000 tickets sold as part of a Covid trial on the road back to normality and there’s no doubt both sets of fans played their part in what was a superb battle between the teams with lots of hard but fair challenges going in.
Full Time: Linfield 2 – 1 Larne
LinfieldFC.com Man of the Match: Joel Cooper
Match Images
