The inevitability of Linfield Football Club strikes again.
Despite key bodies being unavailable, despite the chips appearing to be down, despite the outside financial investment around them, there has never been any withering of their title ambitions.
It’s the way David Healy’s team are built.
They never make excuses for themselves, even in moments like the present when important first-team cogs such as Joel Cooper, Chris Shields and Stephen Fallon have been lost to injury.
And on a cold Tuesday night at Seaview in winter, their trophy-winning mentality was once again on display with a slender success over a top-six adversary.
In a match-up that was rescheduled in the wake of a handful of international call-ups in November, defender Euan East’s solitary strike in first-half stoppage-time proved enough for the Blues to get over the line against Belfast rivals Crusaders.
The January window is now upon us and it is expected that Linfield will strengthen for the second half of the season.
The influence of Scottish striker Andy Ryan in 2022/23 having arrived at Larne from Hamilton Academical in January was telling. He popped up with crucial goals that shot the Inver Reds to a historic first-ever Gibson Cup and, in turn, wrestled the title off their established blue-shirted rivals.
Linfield have been on the right end of a winter masterstroke, too. The season before, relative unknown Knockbreda frontman Ethan Devine rocked up at Windsor Park and made himself a hero with late finishes off the bench; as it were, Healy scooped up the club’s 56th title by but one point ahead of Paddy McLaughlin-led Cliftonville.
Enter January once more, where the distinguished south Belfast institution are believed to have more moves lined up as they sit four points clear at the Sports Direct Premiership summit.
There remain 14 games to play, but daylight accompanies their 59-point total having played the same number of matches (24) as their noisy neighbours from east Antrim – seemingly greater than the sum of their parts right now.
But in the meantime, credit must go to Healy for making the best of what he’s got.
Young talents like Rhys Annett, Darragh McBrien, Josh Archer, Ceadach O’Neill and Braiden Graham have been deployed and shone under the spotlight, and with 16 points achieved from 18 on offer in the five weeks since that chastening 4-0 Big Two humbling at the hands of Glentoran at the start of December, they are ticking over nicely with wind in their sails.
The only points dropped in that run were at Larne, a 1-1 draw at Inver Park where Matthew Fitzpatrick’s leveller cancelled out Lee Bonis’ opener for the champions, while East’s winner over Stephen Baxter’s Crues adds to a revenge victory over the Glens on Boxing Day (2-0) and further triumphs over Coleraine (2-1), Glenavon (2-0) and Dungannon Swifts (4-3).
There was never much shadow of a doubt Linfield would respond to that dark Friday night at The BetMcLean Oval, but even by the manager’s standards, it has been blue heaven of late.
Expect them to bolster their ranks, but Healy is never one to complain about haves and have nots.
He will use what he was at his disposal and he will fine-tune them to perform – excuses go out the window; whatever Blues team you’re playing in, silverware constitutes success for the supporters.
It has proved a fresh test of the Northern Ireland all-time men’s record goalscorer’s credentials, but that examination is one that is being passed swimmingly at present.
The players are benefiting and living up to the billing. ‘More of the same, please’ is the message going forward.
Featured image from Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker.
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