Raphoe battle past PSNI to book place in Linden Cup final

Goals from Jake McKnight and Matthew Lecky sealed a place for Raphoe in the Linden Cup final.

Raphoe returned to competitive action for the first time in 2026 with a place in the final on the line, travelling to Newforge to face PSNI in the semi-final.

With a full squad available, Raphoe started brightly, controlling possession from the opening whistle and forcing PSNI to work hard to get on the ball.

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The Raphoe back line managed the tempo well, patiently moving the ball to draw PSNI out of shape. The breakthrough came when Evan Lyttle, operating at right back, played a perfectly weighted pass down the line to Robbie Watt. Using his pace to get in behind the defence, Watt squared the ball to Jake McKnight, who calmly finished to give Raphoe a deserved early lead.

In the second quarter, PSNI found momentum and earned a series of short corners, all of which were expertly dealt with by Jay Moore in the Raphoe goal. Raphoe struggled at times to gain territory in the PSNI circle, but their best chance of the quarter came when Gavin Lecky picked out McKnight in the D. His effort was well saved, with the rebound falling to Tom Eaton, whose reverse strike narrowly missed the target.

The third quarter was evenly contested, with both sides enjoying spells of possession and working hard off the ball. PSNI came closest to equalising when they won a short corner on the whistle, but Simon Gouide produced an excellent goal-line clearance to preserve Raphoe’s advantage heading into the final quarter.

Raphoe regained control in the final quarter, dictating the pace and creating several promising opportunities, just lacking the final touch. A well-organised press prevented PSNI from finding easy outlets, and Raphoe capitalised when Sam McKnight won possession and found Keith Meehan at the top of the D. Meehan laid the ball off to Matthew Lecky, who made no mistake with a powerful reverse-stick finish to double Raphoe’s lead.

PSNI responded strongly and were awarded a penalty stroke, which they converted to reduce the deficit to 2-1. However, Raphoe showed composure and game management in the closing stages, seeing out the match to secure their place in the Linden Cup final.

Elsewhere, Raphoe’s 2nd XI also enjoyed a successful outing, recording an impressive 5–2 victory over Saintfield 2s. Goals on the day came from George Patterson, Jack Johanson, Johnny Porter (x2) and Sam McKnight, capping off a strong performance for the seconds.