Author: Lewis Bennett
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Starting a cup competition between second and third-tier teams could save the PIL’s NIFL future
Finding the formula to better amalgamate the Premier Intermediate League with the top two tiers of the NI Football League has proved somewhat challenging. Progression into the senior-status ranks is, of course, the golden ticket, and the third-tier is the gateway to that. If you win the PIL, then from the following season, you will…
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Ballymacash Rangers: The rapid rise of a Lisburn club making major gains on and off the pitch
The year 2023 is almost done, and throughout the Irish League, it has proved to be 12 pulsating and eventful months where a great deal of new memories were made for all involved to savour. In Ballymacash Rangers’ case, 2023 was also the first total year the club has spent as a NIFL-associated club –…
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BetMcLean Cup’s Mid-Ulster dynamic makes for an intriguing pair of Semi-Final duels
On Tuesday night, the BetMcLean Cup semi-finals were finalised at last and we now know exactly who will compete for a spot in the prestigious decider. One side of the draw features a mouthwatering Mid-Ulster Derby at Mourneview Park, where a high-stakes tussle between Glenavon and Portadown takes centre stage and the bragging rights of…
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There’s still a place in the modern domestic game for classic punishers like Joe Gormley
As we have seen throughout the past half-decade or so, the Irish League is an ever-evolving beast and clubs must sometimes be elaborate for the sake of staying competitive. Larne and Glentoran have welcomed on board the investment of Kenny Bruce in 2017 and Ali Pour in 2019 that has allowed both clubs to adopt…
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Rises in Championship and PIL crowds reflect real growth in the Irish League’s lower rungs
When the NI Football League revealed the attendance statistics for the Playr-Fit Championship and Premier Intermediate League, you just had to crack a smile. Both divisions have seen a rise in crowds this campaign, with the PIL – expanded from 12 to 14 teams during the off-season – experiencing a 29 per cent increase in…
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Warren Feeney enjoyed a week of dreams… but Glentoran still have so much untapped potential
Football’s tendency for turning the unfathomable into reality will always be one of its most endearing traits. At that, though, if you were predicting Glentoran to hit Linfield with hurricane-force winds and pound on their door to the point where four goals felt flattering for the Blues to ship, you’d be looked at now as…
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2pm kick-off times in top two tiers during winter would have more benefits than drawbacks
Winter is a time of year that brings new challenges – ones that stretch beyond the footballing sphere but, equally, can leave their imprint on it. The most obvious of these fresh trials is the climate. Earlier sunsets, cold chills, snow and ice paint a different picture at the season’s mid-point compared to the warm-weather…
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Football chiefs should look into how to boost medical provisions across NI football in 2024
Over the course of an enthralling 2023 in the Irish League, one of the more sombre notes has been the sight of some serious injuries. Be it Linfield shot-stopper David Walsh sustaining a severe blow to the head in an accidental coming-together with Larne counterpart Thomas Maguire in the County Antrim Shield decider in January,…
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