When time was finally called, Mark McNulty threw himself to his knees and raised his arms towards the darkened Dublin sky, fists clenched in celebration, writes Brendan O’Brien of the Irish Examiner.
The club’s story, and his part in it, is far from done, but there was nonetheless a sense of culmination for the one player in yesterday’s line-up who was there six years ago when Cork City Foras Co-Op played their first ever game in the first division.
Many were the hands that made Cork City work again as a club off the pitch after the dark times, but McNulty was the rock that this team — the visible expression and essence of the organisation — was built on.
From rebirth through to promotion back to the Premier and the last three years spent chasing Dundalk’s shadow, he has been the link with the club’s troubled past while providing for a better future.
When John Caulfield took over at Turner’s Cross he sat down with McNulty and laid out his blueprint. Underlining it was the fact that the more clean sheets a team can amass, then the better the chances are that silverware can be claimed.
McNulty has lived up to that side of the bargain.
The number of blanks registered by opponents has climbed steadily year on year. It reached 27 this season. All bar six of them came in the league, bettering the previous record by three. Yet none were more important than the last, So, this was more than just joyful. It was cathartic.
“It’s been emotional being there through the good times, the bad times,” he said.
“It’s been sickening watching Dundalk winning trophies but we’ve got that first trophy now under John Caulfield. That’s the one we wanted.
“We’ll push on now again now, enjoy our celebrations but then it’s back to the grindstone the next two or three weeks, back working hard in the gym, pushing Dundalk closer next year if not pipping them for the league.”
McNulty’s optimism isn’t new. When Cork lost last year’s decider to Dundalk, on the same scoreline and again after extra-time, he told reporters that City would be back this term with a double as their stated goal.
“We did win the double,” he laughed when reminded of his turn as Mystic Meg.
“President’s Cup and FAI Cup. Two cups. Happy days, we’ll take that.”
That positivity paid off when it mattered most last night. City were in trouble in extra-time. For all their air miles and games played in recent weeks, Dundalk looked the stronger the longer the game went on and it left Cork with a dilemma at the death.
“Five minutes left in injury-time and then Garry Buckley went down. I said to (Alan Bennett): ‘What do you reckon, do we go for it or are we happy with penalties? Will we kill it?’. Benno said ‘No no, let’s go for it’.
“It might not have looked like it at times. (Steven Beattie) could have tried to keep it in the corner, we wanted to win it. We went for it, took a chance. Beatts with his long throw and it worked out.
“Great scenes at the end. For a lot of people it’s the end of four, five, six years of hard work and disappointment as Cork fans. To finish mid-table and then get so close. It’s brilliant to get there and win the cup.”
Beattie walked through the mixed zone shortly after. Not without some discomfort. It was Caulfield who had roared at him to throw the ball long into the box as the spectre of penos loomed but he had no idea that the midfielder was struggling.
“I looked at him and said ‘I don’t even know how to throw the ball long’,” said Beattie. “It came from nowhere and I’m delighted — I snapped a few ligaments in my ankle five minutes before that. I just tried to get the ball out of my hands but away from my feet.”
Such are the delicious nuggets that stick to heroic cup as the years drag on and McNulty has no doubt but that there will be plenty more fireside tales to recount in the years to come now that the new City has broken its trophy duck.
“The first one is the hardest one to win. You win the first trophy and it always seems to keep coming. No doubt John is going to be here for a long, long time, and he’s done superb work since he’s come in.
“Look at the league positions over the last few years: two FAI Cup finals, Europe is getting better every season. John is going to be here for a long time. He’s improved everyone, he’s getting better in every time.”
