Nickey Rackard Cup Final

Wicklow 1-20 Donegal 3-12

By Kevin Egan at Croke Park

Wicklow’s first year in the Nickey Rackard Cup ended in glory this afternoon as they controlled the second half of their clash with Donegal, giving themselves just about enough breathing room to survive a late goal from a Luke White free and still pick up their first national adult championship title since their All-Ireland “B” victory over Roscommon 20 years ago, also at Croke Park.

Ultimately, Casey O’Brien’s troops just had too much scoring power, particularly off the bench. First half goals from Ryan Hilferty and Liam McKinney, both very well-finished, put the Ulster county in the ascendency, but gradually the Wicklow attack, inspired by Christy Moorehouse, worked their way back into the game.

Seánie Germaine, Daniel Staunton and Pádraig Doyle added six points between them after coming into the game, whereas a Donegal side that was operating without star forward Declan Coulter, simply didn’t have the same range of threats.

By some distance, Donegal’s sharpest weapon up front was Ronan McDermott at full forward. The Burt man struck three points of his own, but also played central roles in the goals that were finished by Hilferty and McKinney, as his ability to win his own ball and get a clever pass away in little or no space caused Wicklow a world of problems.

McDermott’s third point, kicked over the bar from close range in what was an attempt to score a goal of his own, made it 2-8 to 0-8, but Wicklow picked off the last two points before half-time, both from Moorehouse, to shift momentum ever so slightly before the break.

Wicklow continued to play on the front foot after half-time but missed some early chances, while a delightful sideline cut from Gerry Gilmore pushed Donegal’s lead out to five, but already they were showing signs of taking control of the game.

Defensively they were to hold Donegal to just three points from then until deep into second-half stoppage time, with Andrew Kavanagh leading the way with a series of majestic high fetches. Up front, a crafty Moorehouse score on the run got them going, and their push was really energised when Andy O’Brien met a high delivery with a perfectly-timed overhead whip, drawing the sides level with eight minutes gone in the second half.

For the next 15 minutes Donegal went score for score with Wicklow, but they were making very little impression up front, with Brian McIntyre their only score from any measure inside the Wicklow half of the field. Luke Kelly potted a 65 while Danny Cullen fired over a monster, but they were hanging in at the other end, needing big defensive interventions from Pádraig Doherty and Stephen Gillespie to prevent Wicklow taking a decisive lead through goals.

Once David Maloney nudged the Garden County in front with fifteen minutes to play, they didn’t look back. Moorehouse, Pádraig Doyle and Luke Evans all found the target with excellent scores, as they piled on the pressure and easily repelled Donegal’s long ball game. Some poor wides from the northerners didn’t help either, but they did ensure a nervous finish when Luke White’s 20 metre free was hammered goalwards and while Wicklow got a stick on the ball, there was too much power and the net rattled anyway.

With just under a minute remaining, Wicklow had one last high ball to deal with, and they just about managed it, smothering Danny Cullen’s late shot to ensure that Conor McNally wasn’t tested, and their championship season ended in a famous win.

Scorers for Wicklow: Christy Moorehouse 0-9 (0-5f), Andy O’Brien 1-1, Daniel Staunton (0-1 sideline), Seánie Germaine and Luke Evans 0-2 each, Eoin McCormack, David Maloney, Pádraig Doyle and Michael Boland 0-1 each.

Scorers for Donegal: Luke White 1-2 (1-1f, 0-1 65), Ronan McDermott 0-3, Liam McKinney 1-1, Ryan Hilferty 1-0, Jack O’Loughlin, Brian McIntyre, Ruairí Campbell, Danny Cullen, Gerry Gilmore (sideline) and Christopher McDermott 0-1 each

Wicklow: Conor McNally; Ben Kearney, Andrew Kavanagh, Martin O’Brien; Pádraig Doran, John Henderson, Sam O’Dowd; Jack Doyle, Diarmuid Masterson; David Maloney, Eoin McCormack, Luke Evans; Christy Moorehouse, Andy O’Brien, Michael Boland.

Subs: Seanie Germaine for Boland (27), Danny Staunton for Masterson (half-time), Matthew Traynor for O’Dowd (half-time), Gavin Weir for O’Brien (49), Pádraig Doyle for Evans (59).

Donegal: Luke White; Pádraig Doherty, Danny Cullen, Stephen McBride; Christopher McDermott, Michael Donaghue, Gavin Browne; Jack O’Loughlin, Stephen Gillespie; Liam McKinney, Ryan Hilferty, Conor Gartland; Ruairí Campbell, Ronan McDermott, Gerry Gilmore.

Subs: Brian McIntyre for C McDermott (43), Seán Ward for Gartland (46), Ritchie Ryan for Campbell (49), Ciarán Bradley for Hilferty (58), Oisín Marley for Gilmore (69).

Referee: James Clarke (Cavan).