There’s a classic saying in football that has rung true in many hunts for league glory all over the world across the years.
“Attacks win you games, defences win you titles.”
First famously coined by the legendary former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who suggested that scoring bucketloads of goals may win you battles but exposing vulnerable chinks in your armour will lose you the war, the Irish League has taken this phrase to heart in some places more than others.
In the Sports Direct Premiership, Larne and Cliftonville each boast mean defensive numbers.
The Invermen have shipped merely 16 goals in their 28 fixtures to date and just 38 since the beginning of their title-winning 2022/23 campaign, while the Reds, whose porousness at the back having let 53 slip through into the net – the most among the top half – denied them a sustained tilt at table-topping glory in the last crusade, have let in only 18 to date in the first season of Jim Magilton’s reign at Solitude.
Sandwiched in between the two are Linfield, who’ve kept just a point off the pace of Tiernan Lynch’s defending champions despite conceding 30 goals – four more than the tallies of their two main challengers combined. They’ve often been spurred on by wins of the closer-fought kind, although recent hitches may spark the Blues into action simply because ‘grinding them out’ can’t be their exclusive strategy herein.
Fight goes a long way, and David Healy’s Blues undoubtedly have the mentality and attitude to make sure they stay right in amongst the two meanest backlines in the top-flight by some distance. But defensive solidity will, ostensibly, be a must.
Quite the contrast to the division below. If the outlook for the Gibson Cup hunt is to watch your back, then the Playr-Fit Championship is to hit where it hurts.
The vast openness of the second-tier title race has been underpinned by nine of the 12 sides having already surpassed the 40-goal marker – Annagh United are within touching distance on 39 – two-thirds of the way into the campaign.
Five have rammed in 50 or more and, in stark contrast to Larne and Cliftonville’s defensive resolve, no team is allowing less than a goal per game to seep through on average.
Second-placed Institute are the rearguard leaders, letting in 29 in their 27 matches played, and the close-knit and competitive nature of the league that has become its unique selling point is well-illustrated in this case by the fact that Ballinamallard United – in eighth position – have the second-best record, letting in 31.
‘Goals win games’ is the preferred stance, making for box-office entertainment and a title race with more sides than can be counted.
So, in one sense, Sir Alex is correct; having a stern backline will make a difference, particularly in tight, high-stakes affairs when the points could flip one way or the other. We’ve seen this a lot in the Premiership.
In another, though, going gung-ho and thinking from the front is not a bad approach to take when every other team around you is employing the same tactic. Sometimes, attack really is the best form of defence.
And that’s before we come to the Premier Intermediate League, where Limavady United appear determined to win promotion back to the senior ranks with a record goalscoring tally.
Paul Owens’ league-leading Roesiders already have 49 in just 15 PIL outings, while second-placed Queen’s University have 41 from the same number of games.
This contrast in the Irish League makes for interesting reading – and it adds to the set-up’s charm as a whole.
Featured image from Andrew McCarroll/Pacemaker Press.
- It’s unfair to put blame at feet of Linfield and Cliftonville for Irish Cup Final crowd disorder
A penny for the thoughts of Linfield and Cliftonville this week. This year’s Irish Cup Final was a spectacular in every sense. Nearly 15,000 packed inside Windsor Park for the biggest-attended domestic fixture in Northern Ireland this century and an occasion to savour that, for the most part, featured backing from both sides that supported… Read more: It’s unfair to put blame at feet of Linfield and Cliftonville for Irish Cup Final crowd disorder - Irish League chiefs must improve provisions in place to attract younger fans and families
Let’s get a basic fact of life out of the way first – no one likes a price hike. No one likes a price hike in the same way that no one likes paying taxes, bills, debts, insurance and other such necessary expenses which, in themselves, are rising amid a general rise in the cost… Read more: Irish League chiefs must improve provisions in place to attract younger fans and families - How the Irish FA’s new ‘Conference Layer’ for intermediate football can be big hit or own goal
Changes to the intermediate football sphere in Northern Ireland have long been touted and, going by the Irish FA’s latest update on the topic, closer than ever to coming to fruition. From the 2026-27 campaign, a new ‘Conference Layer’ will be in effect as part of a radical shake-up of the intermediate levels of the… Read more: How the Irish FA’s new ‘Conference Layer’ for intermediate football can be big hit or own goal - Steven McCullough’s crucial goal in relegation play-off seals him as a Ballymena United great
There’s been a change in priorities for Ballymena United during recent years – albeit not necessarily the type supporters would’ve perhaps wanted. In 2019, the Braidmen were the second best team in the Irish League. Runners-up behind Linfield that year, and just seven points adrift of top spot, the peak years of David Jeffrey’s tenure… Read more: Steven McCullough’s crucial goal in relegation play-off seals him as a Ballymena United great - Ending Cliftonville’s Irish Cup drought proves Jim can fix it… now he must target league glory
Finally, it’s Cliftonville’s year in the Irish Cup. An agonising waiting game ends at last and a drought that lasted 45 painful years is over in one burst of champagne rain. Since 1979, the Reds have contrived to fail in various ways in their pursuit of that elusive ninth Irish Cup – until a man… Read more: Ending Cliftonville’s Irish Cup drought proves Jim can fix it… now he must target league glory
Football Chatters 
Leave a comment