The biggest game of Irish Cup weekend was at The Oval - but the biggest story in many a season descended on Lurgan.
An hour before Crusaders overcame Coleraine in a higher profile semi-final in East Belfast , Ballinamallard United were making history at Mourneview Park.
As an evening breeze whistled across the Mid Ulster venue, the Mallards were celebrating a first ever Irish Cup final courtesy of a tense penalty shootout victory over Warrenpoint.
Ryan ‘Rocket’ Campbell’s spot kick proved decisive to propel the Ferney Park men into the May 4 showpiece.
What a remarkable tale for a modest Championship club who were rank outsiders when they entered the competition at the fifth round stage 12 weeks ago.
Ballinamallard Utd Irish Cup final dream comes true as McConkey praises players
And what a magnificent feat for the Fermanagh men who are the first non top-flight outfit in 43 years to feature in the blue riband final.
The last to venture this far were Carrick who, as a B Division club, shocked Roy Coyle’s Linfield at The Oval in the 1976 showpiece.
Little wonder Mallards boss Harry McConkey was still struggling to come to terms with events almost an hour after Saturday’s semi-final drama.
McConkey, one of the most affable and astute men in the domestic game, said: “It’s a bit surreal to be honest and I’m still trying to process it.
“I’m from Fermanagh and the Irish Cup has always been very special to me, so to go to the final with Ballinamallard means everything.”
Captain Richard Clarke’s voice crackled with a similar emotion as he reflected on one of the most “special” feats of his own memorable career.
Now 33, Clarke, who joined the Mallards in 2017 after winning two league titles with Crusaders, had assumed his time in the spotlight had long passed.
On Saturday the cultured playmaker, who also lifted the Irish Cup with Glentoran in 2013, rolled back the years with a performance of style and substance.
A metronome at the heart of McConkey’s engine room, Clarke was a joy to watch.
Truth be told, I’d forgotten how precise and classy he is in possession of a football.
At times he manipulated and protected it like a family heirloom.
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It’s safe to assume the popular midfielder had a tear in his eye as he sank to his knees and buried his face in the turf moments after the winning penalty rippled the net.
“It was quite emotional,” said Clarke, who paid tribute to his late mother and uncle David, who was laid to rest last week, in his post-match interviews.
“My mum passed away when I was 18, but I felt she was with me today,” he said.
“I didn’t really know how to react at the end, but it’s just a very special feeling helping a club like Ballinamallard get to an Irish Cup final.”
Clarke and penalty hero Campbell are 33 and 37 years old respectively, but the seasoned campaigners aren’t the oldest in McConkey’s well-oiled machine.
That honour goes to veteran goalkeeper John Connolly who denied Lee Duffy a Warrenpoint winner in normal time and parried Matty Lynch’s penalty in the 5-4 shootout triumph.
Connolly, who turned 42 in February, was close to retiring after suffering a ruptured achilles as a Portadown player in 2017, only to be lured to Ballinamallard in the summer.
“Harry is a very persuasive man,” smiled the former Cliftonville and Glenavon shot stopper who was the last to emerge from the Ballinamallard changing room.
“John’s the slowest getting dressed because he’s getting on a bit,” joked one staff member before heading towards the hubbub of Ballinamallard players in a nearby social club.
Raucous cheers could be heard greeting BBC NI highlights of Campbell’s winning penalty on a modest television perched high on a wall in the far corner of the room.
A subsequent post match interview with Campbell, his melodic Fermanagh accent soaring to heights only cosmonauts inhabit, was met by gales of laughter.
Back outside in the chilly Mourneview car park, beside the Ballinamallard team bus, the far-travelled Connolly was recalling his first meeting with McConkey.
“I was lying on the sofa last May,” he said. “It was two weeks after my dad died and Harry called me up on my mobile to see how I was.
“He then asked if I’d be interested in coming to Ballinamallard. I met him a couple of days later and within five minutes, my mind was made up.”
A few yards away McConkey, media interviews complete, was being enveloped by his wife Rozy, daughter Katie and young grandson ‘Harry junior’.
Hugs and history in Mid Ulster. Folklore for Fermanagh. Not a bad day’s work.
“When I sat and chatted with Harry that day, reaching an Irish Cup final wasn’t really mentioned,” chuckled Connolly.
“Incredible, isn’t it... nobody would have predicted this.” Nobody indeed.
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