To the island and back - Rasheney’s marathon journey

Inishowen League Second Division outfit Rasheney FC played Arranmore United of the Donegal League in the Ulster Junior Shield on Saturday.

Rasheny lost 5-4 on penalties. The day involved an away journey involving a 250km, 13-hour round trip over land and sea. Chris McNulty charts a day in the life of the Trawbreaga Park men ...

8.45am: The village of Ballyliffin was just waking, the fog still nestling over the Pollen Strand and the North Atlantic barely visible when driver Eamon Reidy pulled the coach in to collect his first two passengers, the joint manager John McLaughlin - who had the kit, footballs and the various accessories that come with teams these days - and the club secretary Jude McCrossan, who has been in his role since 1993.

9am: The bulk of the party board at the square in Clonmany. A weekend stag party has left Rasheney without the joint player-manager Charlie Doherty and Shane Gordon.

9.05am: The last two passengers, Conor McDaid and Caylum Long, get on board a few miles outside Clonmany.

9.50am: A quick pit-stop at Kernan’s in Newtowncunningham collects an assortment of coffees, teas and snacks. The late October bite in the air seems to exaggerate the steaming cups as they tuck in for the long road.

11.05am: A little earlier than they’d estimated, Rasheney FC pull into the pier at Burtonport - well ahead of the 12 noon ferry crossing to Arranmore - having traveled via Letterkenny, over Meenaroy, Fintown, Doochary and Dungloe.

The waiting time in Burtonport offered a chance to stretch the legs and grab a quick snack. For McCrossan and two other members of the Rasheney contingent - Danny Grant, the club chairman, and Peter McLaughlin, the treasurer - it brought memories of the club’s previous visit to Arranmore. In November 2000, Arranmore United defeated Rasheney 1-0 in the Ulster Junior Cup.

12 noon: The MV Canna sets sail from Burtonport. The weather is different now to the last Rasheney visit, when, as McCrossan remembers ‘some men were almost seasick’. The match referee, Trevor Hay, was also on board, making his first jaunt to the island in his capacity as a referee. Arranmore United’s Frankie Early was there too; a man well versed in the long jaunt to the island, as he makes it fortnightly from his home in Kinlough.

12.20pm: After a relatively calm sailing, they disembark on Arranmore, where a bus is laid on to take them from the jetty to Rannagh Park, the scenic home ground of Arranmore United FC.

12.30pm: McCrossan smiles to himself as he notices a spectator stand has been erected at Rannagh Park since his last visit. “I thought the covered stand was a Godsend. In the game 21 years ago, the weather was horrific,” he said. “Martin Kelly even shouted out late in the game: ‘For God sake, don’t equalise, we don’t want extra time’.”

1pm: With the two teams present and ready, the game starts half-an-hour earlier than the appointed 1.30pm kick-off time.

1.25pm: Brian Proctor and Cormac Dillon had swapped chances at either end before Ben Boyle, the Arranmore goalkeeper, saved from David McLaughlin in a one-on-one. Arranmore took the lead when Glen O’Donnell hooked a shot beyond Rasheney netminder Greg Doherty to the top corner. 1-0

1.37pm: Rasheney draw level. Dillon sweeps home from close range after getting onto the end of a McLaughlin cross. 1-1

1.45pm: Referee Hay sounds the half-time whistle with the weather rapidly deteriorating. Dillon had a chance late in the half, but Boyle saved.

2.45pm: The full-time whistle goes and the sides are inseparable. Both teams had their moments in the second half. Proctor was thwarted by Peter Doherty and John McLaughlin while Rasheney’s Damien Friel crashed a thunderous effort off the Arranmore crossbar.

3pm: Full-time in extra-time and they were still deadlocked. Declan McLaughlin almost won it for Rasheney, but was denied by a wonderful save by Boyle. At the other end, Proctor saw a deflected free-kick go wide.

3.15pm: It was down to penalties to separate the teams. Rasheney had successful kicks from Damien Friel, John McLaughlin, David McLaughlin and Declan McLaughlin, but John Grant shot over the crossbar and it was 4-4 after the first five. In sudden death, Boyle saved from Shane Cregan and Arranmore - the most recent winners of the Ulster Shield in the 2019/20 season - advanced. 5-4 on penalties

3.50pm: The good people of the Arranmore Ferry delayed the 3.30pm crossing for 20 minutes to facilitate the late arrivals. “The next crossing was at 5.30pm and that would have been too long to wait really.” McCrossan said. Arranmore United had arranged a spread of refreshments for their visitors. With Rasheney keen to make their exit, the hosts dispatched trays of sandwiches to digest on their way home. “They were really good hosts,” McCrossan added.

4.10pm: Rasheney touched back at Burtonport again the McLaughlin’s bus was ready for home again. This time, via a different route.

5pm: Familiar faces always have a habit of popping up. Rasheney decided to break the journey at O’Donnell’s Bar in Kilmacrennan and took in the Tottenham Hotspur-Manchester United game on Sky Sports. Joining their company was Liam McGonigle. In 2000, Liam played for Rasheney against Arranmore and he also lined out for Arranmore for a period. McCrossan is a meticulous keeper of Rasheney’s statistics and says McGonigle, a popular taxi driver in Letterkenny, scored 33 goals in the 2000/01 season.

8.30pm: The coach load carried by Reidy was rather lighter leaving Kilmacrennan with some of the crew deciding to make a night of it in Letterkenny.

10pm: John McLaughlin has bag and baggage removed from the bus and Eamon Reidy makes off back to the Isle of Doagh with the coach, having left off passengers who’ll be rather thankful of the clocks being wound back to give them an extra hour in bed.

“Every year, we look forward to an away day,” McCrossan said. “When these draws are made, boys are always asking: ‘How will we get there?’ The trip on Saturday certainly made us think about the effort Arranmore have every other week. It’s a credit to them. It’s great to get away days like these - even if the result didn’t go our way.”