Cleary and Villa will battle for Bessbrook Cup this Friday at the Showgrounds

The Carnbane League's showcase Bessbrook Cup competition comes to a conclusion on Friday evening at the Showgrounds, with Cleary Celtic and Villa Rovers battling it out to claim the coveted trophy.

It will be a first for Villa if they win. They had a chance against Cleary in 2022 but it wasn't to be and that was the year Cleary made Carnbane League and club history, winning all five trophies on offer.

Villa beat Orchard United 3-0, Rossowen 2-1 and Ballybot Utd 2-1 en route to the final, while Cleary saw off Greenfield Park 5-1, Archview Utd 7-4 and holders Newry Celtic 4-1 in the semi-final.

“It's going to be a tough game. It's always a tough game against Villa,” said Cleary manager John Hogg.

His side have a good record against Villa beating them all three times they met in the league this season.

“They'll be looking to break that,” feels Hogg.

“I think, by all accounts, they were leaving themselves short in games to put all of their focus on this one. They're probably pushing hard to win this now that they're in the final and they're probably right.”

Asked if he felt any pressure, with Cleary on track to surpass their previous record from two years ago when they won every competition bar the Junior Cup which they have a chance to win this year, Hogg laughed: “I'd love to tell you lies and say yes but no, I don't feel any pressure at all. If you don't win it's no big deal, it's only a game of football.”

And it's clear Hogg is not being disingenuous when I remind him that his side have not been beaten so far this season in all competitions. “Have we not?” he says sounding genuinely surprise. “I don't get tied up in all that nonsense.”

But what about the players? “No. We try and keep it a bit of craic. You could kind of feel after Christmas that people were not wanting to lose and myself and the rest of the management team told them, 'don't go out not wanting to lose, go out to win the match.' So I think that's been a big thing the last few games. They've been enjoying it again and the pressure is off.

“But we want to win the Bessbrook Cup. We lost out last year and we want to put that right. We went out in the quarter-final last year [to Rossowen]. I don't think we should have gone out. I think we had 20 or 24 shots on target. So we fought hard this year to make sure we had our best team on the pitch each round to get to the final, so hopefully we won't slip up.

"It will be a tough game, but we're really looking forward to it. And it's great to get playing on a really good pitch again at The Showgrounds too.”

Cleary's opponents are also looking forward to the final.

“These are the games you train all year for,” said Villa manager Richard Troope. The Bessbrook Cup is particularly important for Villa as this and the Fr Davies Cup are their last chances for silverware this season.

“This is the one I suppose,” agreed Troope.

“When the league went away from us we decided to focus on the Bessbrook Cup as the trophy we could potentially win this season. We've got to the final now so we'll wait to see what happens on the night.”

The manager is well aware that Cleary haven't lost a game all season and changing that will be a tough task.

“Yeah, they're worthy favourites but I think if we play to our potential we certainly have a good chance in the game. So, we're hoping the lads turn up on the night and we'll take it from there.”

While their record against Cleary may be poor this season, Villa typically give them a run for their money. They lost the league after a play-off against Cleary last season but beat them in the AOH Cup final.

“I think they don't really enjoy playing against us. They're record would probably suggest otherwise, but a lot of the games have been very, very close, a break of the ball here or there. We got the AOH Cup against them last year. They obviously won the league and a couple of other cups too but we'll see what Friday brings, each game is a different occasion.”

That's certainly true, particularly in cup finals.

“Exactly,” agreed Troope, “It's all on the night, We do have a couple of wee niggles we hope to clear up before Friday but hopefully we'll have everyone as fit as they can be.

“We have plenty of experience in the squad. Plenty of boys who've been around football for a long time. Good players. I just expect them to go out on Friday and treat the game like any other game and hopefully the performance will follow.”

And a night out in the Showgrounds is also something for Villa to look forward to.

“It's a great occasion for everyone associated with the club to get down to The Showgrounds. It's where you want to play, it's what you work for, to get nights like Friday. Hopefully there'll be a big crowd there and we come out the right end of the result.”