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Intermediate
Football Championship Final 2002
Longstone
lift first title in over fifty years - 29/09/02
Longstone
1.13 v Saval 0.06
Taken
from Down Democrat Web Site
 Longstone
pip Saval IT was a long time coming. Well over fifty years
in fact. But Longstone Emmets finally made it. At St Patrick
Park, Newcastle, the red-shirted side picked up their first
major trophy in their half century plus of existence, when
they beat Saval in the Intermediate Championship final.
There were joyous scenes after the game with many fans,
mentors and players emotional. Manager PJ McGee, a man who
guided Rostrevor to Senior Championship honours four years
ago, was one of these. He said: “I’m delighted for Longstone.
This victory means so much to the club. I’m so pleased.
Another who was overjoyed was Bronagh Rogers - wife of the
late Stone legend, Ambrose - and a lady who looks after
the medicinal needs of the players.
Bronagh, who has been
attached to the club for over 18 years and whose son Ambrose
plays on the team, could scarcely look as the watch ticked
down the final exciting moments. S he
could scarcely turn her head towards the field of play even
though it was deep into injury time and her lads were six
points in front. Still after the final whistle there was
a massive out-pouring of emotions - tears, hugs and cheering
filling the clear Mourne air with Bronagh saying: “It’s
wonderful. Brilliant. I’m just delighted.” And the team
had deserved the win.
In a tremendous second half performance
the Stone ruled the show and the 1-13 to 1-06 scoreline
was in fact a true reflection on the play. On the other
hand Saval were devastated. They had worked so hard coming
into the final with joint managers Gerry Hughes and Eamon
McCarthy blending together a fine team.
But on the day things
just didn’t work out. Indeed most of the Saval men had an
evening when things just wouldn’t come together with perhaps
the exceptional full back Jonathan Hughes and the agile
keeper Peter Murphy the only players showing their true
form.
Though Stephen Sands and Gary Digney too had their
moments. And going into the big match several key Saval
players were carrying injuries. But the major hammer blow
came in the first quarter when their top man Daniel Hughes
was injured in a clash with Longstone full 
Michael Higgins.
After receiving treatment the Saval full
forward stayed on for a short while but on 19 minutes he
had to hobble from the park, the pain in his right angle
too much to bear. And the team also lost the influential
Darren Cunningham to a further injury. By the way Longstone
too had their problems with full back Mark Harrison suffering
a serious leg injury.
To the action: it was the Stone that
started best with Mark Poland pointing twice in the first
couple of minutes with Adrian Trainor adding another to
the tally on nine minutes.
But gradually Saval worked their
way back and on 11 minutes might have levelled. Stephen
Sands, the hugely talented 16-year-old corner forward, created
a great chance by finding Daniel Hughes in space and just
ten yards from the target. Hughes shot but keeper Aidan
Poland made a superb block. Though three minutes later Saval
were indeed level. Darren Cunningham lofted in a freekick
from the right with Sands challenging Poland and the ball
dropping loose into a packed area where the alert Sands
managed to force a shot across the line.
At this stage of
the game play was tight with chances few and far between:
but on 25 minutes the Rathfriland Road team managed to get
their noses in front for the first time when Cunningham
pointed from a free. Though just before the interval Ambrose
Rogers fired over from fully 40 metres to once more square
the game.
Yet just before that Rogers’ point, Peter Murphy
performed a minor miracle when he made a tremendous save
form a Mark Doran piledriver. Things were looking good for
Saval on the resumption as they were playing with a strong
wind on their backs. And in fact on 31 minutes Sands restored
their lead with a classy point. Though that was as good
as it got for Saval as after that score the Stone dominated
matters.
With skipper Mark Doran and the impressive Barry
Doran calling the shots plus the speedy full forward Adrian
Trainor ca using
all sorts of problems, Longstone knocked over three points
in a row: Trainor, Mark Poland and Rogers each finding the
range. Substitute Fergal McConville pulled one back for
Saval via a freekick: though Trainor rubbed that out when
he cut in from the right before knocking over probably the
score of the game from a sharp angle.
Meanwhile Barry McCoy,
the goal-scoring hero in Saval’s last championship-winning
team, and Gavin Quinn pointed for their team with Trainor
twice doing the biz for the Stone as the match moved into
the final ten minutes, incidentally ten minutes that belonged
almost exclusively to Emmets.
After keeper McPoland had
saved well from Sands and Quinn, the play moved to the other
end where on 55 minutes substitute Brendan Trainor leapt
high onto a teasing high Mark Doran ball before fisting
confidently into the back of the net. The long-awaited dream
was about to be realised and when Trainor and Doran tagged
on further points it was all over bar the shouting … a nd
there was plenty of that.
Though in injury time Sands pointed
for Saval but it was all too little and Longstone were the
Down 2002 Intermediate Champions, skipper Mark Doran starting
wild celebrations when he raised aloft the Willie John Farrell
Cup.
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