Rice savours historic Mullabrack victory

By Shaun Casey

FRIDAY was a historic night for Mullabrack as they gained their first victory in the Junior Championship for almost two decades. Star man James Rice said afterwards that the wait was worth it in the end.

Mullabrack defeated Lissummon to book their place in the quarter-finals of the competition. For long periods of the game, the eventual winners were second best all over the field and trailed.

A goal from the inspirational Rice, along with another from super sub Owen Quinn, helped Paul Dynes’ men pull off an unbelievable 3-8 to 0-14 victory.

“You could see what it meant to the lads out on the pitch, I can’t put it into words. People ask you why we stick at it, that’s why we stick at it. It’s worth it for nights like Friday,” said Rice, who scored 1-2 for his side.

He was also instrumental in the first Mullabrack goal in the first half, finished off by Conor McCann, and they were 0-9 to 1-2 adrift at the short whistle.

With their season on the line, Mullabrack decided to ‘throw the kitchen sink at it’. Once they got to grips with Lissummon around the middle third, it was very much game on.

“To be honest, we probably did well in the first half to weather the storm,” he added. “They kicked three points at the start of the game, but we got an extra man in front of their full forward line and stopped the ball going in.

“We got to grips with their kickouts as well and stopped their platform for attacking, so I think that was key for us to get a foothold on the game.

“Damien (Corvan) said at half time that we had 30 minutes to go for it and throw the kitchen sink at it and that’s what we did in the second half.

“Our own kickouts in the second half as well, that gave us a platform. I know Paddy Rice the last day (against Clady) maybe didn’t have his best day, but he really stood up on Friday.”

Mullabrack face a stiff challenge this weekend as they take on 2024 Junior Championship winners Collegeland, with a spot in the semi-finals the prize for the winners.

“It’s going to be a big challenge, but we’ll give it all we have and that’s all we can do,” concluded Rice.