Adam Lecky dedicates Senior Shield triumph to those 'who put their life and soul' into Carrick Rangers
Carrick Rangers star Adam Lecky dedicated their Senior Shield final success over Cliftonville to those “who put their life and soul” into the club.
Lecky was only introduced off the bench at half-time but was named Man of the Match for his huge impact – the former Crusaders striker scored a late equaliser to cancel out Ryan Curran’s opener and caused constant chaos with his physical presence.
The 34-year-old has previous for contributing in cup finals, scoring as the Crues defeated Ballymena United 4-0 in the Irish Cup final in 2023.
His strike helped end Carrick’s 33-year wait for silverware glory with Tuesday’s penalty shootout win marking only the club’s third senior trophy.
"It’s brilliant,” he told the club’s media channel. “I’m just delighted...as a player, this is the reason you play the game, to be involved in big games like this and enjoy the high of winning trophies.
"I’m delighted for the team, the club and the town. I know around the club there’s a lot of people who put their life and soul into it so hopefully it’s a reward for them.
"I know the club has been starved of success in recent years so I’m delighted to make a bit of history for the club and give back to the town.”
Lecky felt Carrick were deserving winners and credited a half-time message for their positive performance after the break.
"We were playing a good team and you have to give them credit,” he added. “They were the better team in the first half.
"I don’t think we were poor as such, just maybe the game was passing us by a little bit, and at half-time we talked about going out and having a go.
"It’s a cup final so you don’t want to leave anything out there. We did that and I felt we were the better team in the second half.
"I don’t think anybody can deny that we were deserving winners in the end. Over the course of the 90 minutes we were probably the better side.”