Author: Lewis Bennett
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Europe is Coleraine’s last hope in 2023/24… and Oran Kearney must show steel to get them there
To say that Coleraine have found the going tough this season would be something of an understatement. At the weekend, a turbulent campaign arguably hit a new nadir when they were swept aside by Glentoran at The BetMcLean Oval, routed 6-0 with the hosts’ hat-trick hero David Fisher doing the bulk of the damage. It’s…
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Online rumblings over Glentoran’s purported financial woes show dark side of rumour mill
When you are working in as localised a playing field as the Irish League, rumours are bound to spread and conjecture is sure to emerge. That’s understandable. The climate is such that everybody knows everybody, so to speak; every matchgoing supporter knows a player, a coach, a committee member or someone bound to be privy…
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Institute’s comeback win in table-topper duel at Dundela could be a watershed in Championship title race
The chase for promotion into the Premiership is an intense dash, so when the two primary pacesetters in the second-tier collided at Wilgar Park, it could well have been a case of an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object. Not so, as it proved – in fact, following their head-on clash on Tuesday night, the…
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Bringing back salary cap a small step but giant leap towards professionalism in the Irish League
The hive of discussion on how to improve the Irish League is always abuzz. Whether on or off the pitch, the spoken, overarching ambition of organisation CEO Gerard Lawlor is to see greater professionalism throughout the NI Football League. Earlier in the season, the former Cliftonville chairman unveiled the league body’s five-year plan titled ‘A…
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Gary Boyle’s return to Warrenpoint Town is the perfect move for all parties
Having departed his role as Newry City manager following the side’s 4-0 Boxing Day defeat to Glenavon, Gary Boyle is back in the game. The 36-year-old, who took up the mantle at The Showgrounds having served as his predecessor Darren Mullen’s long-time assistant in the summer of 2023, announced that he’d be stepping down as…
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Upset value in the Irish Cup on full display in the Fifth Round… with every chance of continuing
In the Irish Cup Sixth Round, there were three all-Premiership ties pulled out of the hat that all but confirms the amount of top-flight clubs will have at least been slashed in half from the last-32 by the time the quarter-finals roll around. League leaders Linfield will host relegation-battling Ballymena United, second-placed Larne entertain Glenavon…
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Ballymacash Rangers’ Irish Cup showdown with Glentoran pick of the last-16 ties for TV billing
When the Irish Cup Fifth Round draw was made, intermediate representation in the last-16 had already been rubber-stamped when Oxford Sunnyside of the Mid-Ulster League learned that they would face Premier Intermediate League opposition in Ballymacash Rangers. It was history in itself for The ‘Cash, who were featuring at this stage of the blue-riband 143-year-old…
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Five-star Ballyclare Comrades sign off Dixon Park grass pitch era with flourish in Irish Cup
Ballyclare Comrades began their 2024 with the end of an era, progressing into the Sixth Round of the Irish Cup but saying a heartfelt goodbye to their days on grass at Dixon Park. Their 5-2 victory over Strabane Athletic was the final first-team match at the east Antrim venue before a new artificial surface is…
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