Lisbellaw United fell short in their attempts to capture a league and cup double, with a first half goal from Tony Quinn enough to ensure Strathroy Harps retained the Mulhern Cup. In a closely contested match the early goal proved decisive, but Lisbellaw manager Andy Reilly felt his side were not far away from getting something from the game.
“Obviously we are disappointed in the result but I can’t be too harsh on the players,” he said. “We really threw everything at them in the second half but it wasn’t meant to be. There wasn’t much in it. I feel if we had equalised we would have pushed on and won it, but fair play to Strathroy they’re a good side and deserve their win.”
Despite the defeat Lisbellaw can still celebrate a trophy winning season. Their first Mercer Cup triumph in four years delighted the manager, and he is hopeful that the elusive Mulhern Cup will soon be on its way to Lisbellaw. “It’s still been a successful season though to win the league, get to the cup final and quarter final of the Junior Cup and we have to look back on it as a good year,” he said. “We hope to add a few signings and see can we push on next season.”
Harps manager Seamus Fanthorpe was unavailable for the final game of their season and had to keep up with the match from abroad. After putting together a run of victories, he admits he was hopeful his team’s form in the closing weeks of the season would continue in the Ferney Park showpiece. Dropped points midway through the season proved costly in their defence of the league title, but the Tyrone team put that disappointment behind them to ensure they captured some silverware for the season.
“I was quietly confident going into the game,” said Fanthorpe. “I though Lisbellaw hadn’t been challenged since going into the Tummery game. We had tough enough games and we put together a 14 game unbeaten run going into the final so we had momentum and we were the holders so I think we were favourites. 
"Lisbellaw won the league obviously which was disappointing, and that came down to a few disappointing refereeing decisions and a few disappointing decisions by individual players who got caught up in the moment. 
"We had too many sent off and too many suspended for about five weeks and that was basically the difference. 
"For us to be able to claw that back and take the league to the final game of the season, and then go on and win the cup, showed exceptional character from everybody involved,” stated Fanthorpe.