Richard White (NCU PRO)

The final of the 2018 GMcG Junior Cup Final will be contested by Cliftonville Academy and Templepatrick, on Saturday 4th August (11am), at Moylena, home of Muckamore Cricket Club.

The Junior Cup was first contested in 1891, when Lavinia were the winners. Teams in Senior League Section 2 and Junior League Section 1 compete in this competition.

Pictured left to right are Clarence Hiles (NCU President), Andrew Magee (Captain of Cliftonville Academy), Ross Bryans (Captain of Templepatrick) and Tony Nicholl (Managing Director, GMcG)

Cliftonville Academy, in their first year as a newly formed club, reached the showpiece final by defeating Larne by 8 wickets in the first round, followed by convincing wins over Waringstown Seconds (120 runs), and Ards (131 runs) when Jonathan Terrett scored an unbeaten 139 not out. The semi-final was a closer affair with a 16 run victory over Carrickfergus Seconds.

Cliftonville won the Junior Cup in 1961, and Academy have had quite a few recent successes in 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2014.

Templepatrick, beaten in last seasons semi-final by eventual winners Instonians Seconds, had a 7 wicket victory over Belfast SuperKings in the first round, and defeated Saintfield by 6 wickets in Round 2. There then followed two impressive winning margins over Ballymena (174 runs) in the quarter-final and Lisburn Seconds (149 runs) in the semi-final.

Cliftonville Academy and Templepatrick are the top two teams in Robinson Services League 2, and are so far unbeaten in the league this season. Templepatrick recently won the Lagan Valley Steels Twenty 20 Shield.

Photo Credit - Declan Roughan / Presseye

The two cup final captains - (left) Andrew Magee (Cliftonville Academy) and Ross Bryans (Templepatrick).