Robbie McDaid’s magic strike seals Irish Cup win for Glentoran over Ballymena United

The former Leeds United man struck the winner for the Glens in the 115th minute of action at Windsor Park to seal the 2-1 extra-time win. Ballymena had the lion’s share of the possession in the opening quarter but it was Mick McDermott’s men who broke the deadlock as 20-year-old Paul O’Neill fired in from outside the box against the run of play. The Sky Blues kept plugging away though and drew themselves level three minutes after the restart as Cathair Friel lost his man at the near post to head home Steven McCullough’s corner. Both sides had chances to win but as the game wore on the legs grew tired, especially after they had gone the distance in Monday’s semi-finals. Again it looked like we may be heading the same way as Monday with another penalty shoot-out before McDaid’s crucial intervention in the second period of extra-time to give the Glens supporters their first trophy to celebrate since their Irish Cup win in 2015. It was a welcome sight to see fans queuing up to get in to watch a game again, albeit socially distanced and in reduced numbers. Their joy was there for all to see as they made their way into the ground. And despite there being only 500 between both clubs, both sets were making plenty of noise. It certainly had an effect on the teams, who started with purpose and intent. It was Ballymena who were posing most of the early questions with Scot Whiteside almost picking out Friel at the back post, but Elvio Van Overbeek just managed to nick in front of him to head clear. Patrick McClean then had to stand strong to head away a dangerous Andy McGrory free-kick on 12 minutes. The Sky Blues were well on top but spurned a glorious opportunity with 17 minutes on the clock. The energetic Joshua Kelly burst through from midfield but he elected to try and square the ball inside to Adam Lecky when he had a clear path to goal, and the ball was cleared by Van Overbeek. But just like it always seems to happen in football if you don’t score when you’re on top you will be punished. Navid Nasseri started to weave his magic and forced Ross Glendinning into a close-range block, but the wide man somehow fired the rebound wide on 21 minutes. But just 60 seconds later O’Neill picked up the loose ball outside the box before firing low into the bottom corner, giving the keeper no chance. To be fair Ballymena got themselves up from the sucker-punch with Leroy Millar making Elliott Morris work with a header from McGrory’s corner. And the keeper had to be alert again seconds later as Friel tried to catch him out with a clever flick at the near post, this time from McCullough’s corner. The Glens were causing problems on the break though with Christopher Gallagher and Nasseri combining on 32 minutes, but the latter couldn’t get enough contact on the ball in front of goal allowing Glendinning to block. David Jeffrey was forced into a change as McGrory was forced off injured. His replacement, Tony Kane, set up Lecky with a great cross before the break, but the big striker headed over from close range. Whatever was said by the Ballymena boss at half-time had an immediate impact as his side drew level three minutes after the restart. Friel lost his marker from McCullough’s corner and glanced home a header from six yards out. The front man created another opening for himself on 58 minutes as he cut inside past Van Overbeek, but Keith Cowan reacted well to block his shot. As the game moved towards the final 15 minutes the teams’ energy levels, unsurprisingly, dropped with passes starting to go astray for the first time in the match. As the game moved towards the final few minutes Ruaidhri Donnelly found himself in the referee’s notebook for simulation. Neither side could find a winner so it was into extra-time. McCullough curled a free kick over in the opening stages of the first period of extra time. The Glens broke clear down the left on 99 minutes as McDaid released Nasseri, but his pass into the box for the unmarked Johnny Frazer was cut out. McDaid picked up the loose ball outside the box and curled a shot just wide. With five minutes to go Ciaran O’Connor picked up the ball in midfield and drove into the box before picking out McDaid to fire home the winner from eight yards. Glentoran: Morris, Van Overbeek (Smith, 88), Cowan, McClean, Kane, Gallagher, Crowe (O’Connor, 67), Nasseri, Donnelly (Peers, 118), McDaid, O’Neill (Frazer, 83). Subs (not used): Antolovic, Gordon, McGarvey. Ballymena United: Ro Glendinning, Addis (Aa Burns, 116), Whiteside, Friel (K Kane, 105), McCullough, McGrory (A Kane, 37; Balmer, 116), Winchester (Knowles, 60), Ervin, Lecky, Millar, Kelly. Subs (not used): Williamson, Harpur. Referee: Tim Marshall.