The Irish Cup last-16 proved a fruitful round for Championship clubs, with six entering the fray and four coming out the other side unscathed.
Indeed, there wasn’t a single instance of a Premiership club toppling a second-tier adversary, with north Down duo Bangor and Ards eliminated by division rivals Portadown and Institute respectively.
Harking back to 2019 when Harry McConkey led Ballinamallard United to the Final as a Championship outfit, a repeat feat for Niall Currie’s Ports, Kevin Deery’s ‘Stute, Newington or Ballyclare Comrades has been made a little harder given they were kept apart in the quarter-finals.
To advance, they must fend off the leading four in the top-flight.
Portadown and Institute, two serious promotion hopefuls, will entertain Cliftonville and Linfield respectively, while away dates with Larne and Glentoran beckon for Newington and Ballyclare.
But we have already seen shock factor in abundance during this year’s competition – even when the chips have looked down.
The Comrades, initially drawn at home to Dungannon Swifts, instead tackled their top-tier opponents at Stangmore Park given their Dixon Park home is undergoing renovation work to install a new synthetic playing surface.
But if their performance on the Swifts’ artificial pitch was anything to go by, they won’t struggle to adapt to their bold new era.
While Cahal McGinty fired the hosts in front nine minutes out from half-time and Thomas Maguire shot them back into the lead on 74 minutes after visiting skipper Gary Donnelly’s leveller not long prior, Stephen Small’s charges clicked into gear.
It took only two minutes after Maguire’s finish for Alan McMurtry to blast home a second equaliser before, five minutes from time, the sharp-shooting Darius Roohi slotted home to rubber-stamp a 3-2 triumph and an Irish Cup last-eight berth for a second consecutive campaign.
Simultaneously, Newington, whose infamous upset defeat of Glentoran at The Oval in 2012 still lives fresh in the memory, also produced comeback heroics at a venue their tie wasn’t first pencilled in to take place.
What a debut it proved to be for Ruaidhri Donnelly. After Brandon Doyle put Newry City in front 14 minutes deep into proceedings at The Showgrounds, the former Northern Ireland Under-21 international took centre stage and was twice in the right place at the right time, helping the Swans mount a turnaround with only a little over half an hour on the clock.
The frontman had rocked up just 48 hours earlier when his eye-catching loan capture from Glentoran was confirmed on deadline day, but he was in no mood to hang about with Paul Hamilton’s charges delivering a stellar overall display to see through their lead to the end.
Newry, who were scheduled to travel to Inver Park when their name was first pulled out of the hat but became the hosts through an ensuing sequence of events – namely, Larne also being drawn at home to Glenavon, before Barry Gray’s side declined The ‘Ton’s request to play the match on an alternative date that led to a mandatory switch – failed to make their home comforts count and suffered a second straight exit to a second-tier side as H&W Welders also had their number in 2023.
The Glens and Invermen are clear favourites on paper this time around, but they have been warned; circumstance certainly won’t cause the sides they’ll face to buckle under pressure.
Featured image from Fionntan McGrath/Newington FC Media.
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