'Cockhill Celtic is my home, this day is what it's all about' - Friel

The main point marked beside Garbhan Friel’s name in the players’ list was to note that he had 24 goals in all competitions this season for Cockhill Celtic, so who else would you rather take your decisive penalty in an FAI Junior Cup final? 

A well-struck spot kick from Friel in the shootout in Eamonn Deacy Park on the May Bank Holiday Sunday sealed the Junior Cup for Cockhill as a sea of green and white charged towards the 33-year-old veteran following a 1-1 draw with Wexford’s Gorey Rangers. 

The pain after losing last year’s Intermediate Cup final on penalties to Rockmount was immediately banished from everyone’s minds in the Galway ground as the Inishowen men captured the trophy in such dramatic fashion following 110 minutes of football. 

“It’s hard to put into words, I’m just delighted with how the boys dug in to win this cup, we like to do everything the hard way, but we got there in the end,” said Friel after his side’s victory in Galway.  

“We pushed all the way to the end, we never gave up and thankfully we eventually got that goal we badly needed.” 

With Cockhill heavy favourites going into the match, there was no real sign of what was about to come in the 14th minute when Stephen Kinsella stepped up to a free-kick 45 yards from goal. 

He saw Cockhill goalkeeper Harry Doherty edging off his line to attack the delivery and he whipped the ball into the near post, past a desperate dive to the net. But despite The Donegal side trailing, it was fair to argue that they were the better side throughout. 

“I felt we were the better team overall and I do think we were a bit unfortunate to be 1-0 down so early on, but it’s great to win in such dramatic fashion and you can see it means so much to so many people, there’s not much to say when you see the scenes today,” Friel admitted. 

“I think towards the end of the second half, we kept the ball very well, we knew there was a goal in us, we knew we were well capable of putting them away, but credit to Gorey they kept frustrating us throughout, and when it comes down to penalties, it can go either way but we got the luck this time with the penalty shootout.” 

With Friel praising a real team performance, especially following the dismissal of team captain Jimmy Bradley in extra-time, the Cockhill striker gave particular praise to the younger players, citing that the future for Cockhill is in safe hands. 

“I think massive credit has to go to the young lads, you can see in extra-time how hard they worked,” he said. “It’s not bad coming into the club at such a young age and winning a national title, they are the future of Cockhill and it shows the future is very bright when you have those boys carrying us.” 

As they faced the dreaded situation of a penalty shootout again, Friel admitted that his team were determined not to allow what happened in the Cup final last year repeat itself. 

He acknowledged that he was determined to carry the weight of his club and take the final penalty, which resulted in the club’s first-ever FAI Junior Cup crown. 

“I don’t know about the rest of the boys, but for me, it was just thinking about the hurt of last year and making sure that wasn’t going to happen again in a cup final. I wanted to hit the last penalty because I thought the pressure would be better on my shoulders than some of the younger boys,” Friel said. 

“Had I missed it I might have been able to deal with it better but thankfully it went in, and we have this cup now that we have wanted so badly since we entered this competition.” 

At 33, and with a handful of Ulster Senior League titles, an Inishowen championship, and now national glory, there’s not much left for the Cockhill striker to achieve in the club, but his passion and dedication for this team runs strong as he embraced his friends and family in Eamonn Deacy Park. 

“Cockhill is my home, my friends are here, my family is involved in the club . . . and this is what it means, this is what it’s all about, it’s a great day,” he said.