Fivemiletown 2 Oxford Sunnyside 0

Fivemiletown United lifted the Marshall Cup to secure the club’s first silverware for 11 years.

Goals from Ethan Jordan and Glen Clarke sparked scenes of celebration around Holm Park in Armagh as United overcame favourites Oxford Sunnyside to bounce back from their Premier Cup final defeat a week earlier.

“They deserved it,” said a delighted joint Manager, Chris McDowell.

“The season they have put in, the hard work, the commitment – it just summed it all up on Friday night, for me.

“To come away with the result – despite going into the game as big, big underdogs – was special.

“To win it the way we did was just unbelievable. We went out with a game plan.

“We took everything we thought we had done wrong last Saturday and got on the training pitch on Tuesday night, and put those things right.

“We played five yards higher up the pitch and the heart and desire on Friday night was on another level. It was the last match of the season and we told them to give it their all, and they did that – and did it in style.

“Barry [Anderson] and I would like to thank the club, the community, the spectators, the sponsors all for their support throughout the year, because without them we wouldn’t be where we are.”

The win marked the end of a long, barren spell for the club, and Chris is now hopeful the club can use this success as a springboard for more trophies.

He admitted: “11 years is a long time to wait.

“I was delighted to put last weekend right, and the emotion after the game was something I had never seen before. You could see what a big relief it was for them all. You can also see that desire from the players to push on again.

“They were saying that this is what we should be doing every year, and that pleased me even more, to be honest.”

Fivemiletown started well and Davy Fulton blasted into the side netting after just three minutes.

The best chance of the opening exchanges fell to Oxford midway through the first half when their striker lifted his shot over the crossbar when well-placed.

The game swung in Fivemiletown’s favour after 38 minutes when Ivan Carson was brought down inside the penalty area.

It appeared as though Simon Robb had spurned the opportunity when his penalty was saved, but the goalkeeper was adjudged to have moved off his line, and Ethan Jordan took the second spot kick and made no mistake to give his side the lead.

Oxford dominated the early stages of the second half but the United defence held firm, and they extended their lead just after the hour mark when Glen Clarke converted Ricki Carroll’s pass.

Deep into injury time, a tackle on Glen Clarke sparked a melee that eventually led to the Oxford goalkeeper and Nathan Sherry sent off, but the late cards were too late to affect the outcome, with Fivemiletown holding on to claim a famous win.