Author: Lewis Bennett
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Ballymena United and Newry City would be wise to trust their first-time bosses through the hard times and good
2023 is coming to a close and, among other things, it will be remembered as a year when some Irish League managerial dynasties met their ends. Six or seven months ago, these long-serving tenures were still in place at clubs like Ballymena United, Newry City and Glenavon – but the picture has changed since. Most…
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However the Euro 2028 construction process plays out, it must be handled with perspective
Northern Ireland is set to play a hosting part in the Euro 2028 Finals, with the redevelopment of Casement Park set to start in early 2024 to make it happen. A home away from home, the west Belfast venue is not one accustomed to hosting association football – rather, it is the historical heart and…
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Ambition on and off the pitch is fuelling a bright future for flying Dundela
At the start of the 2023/24 Playr-Fit Championship season, there was both an air of anticipation and a whiff of enigma about Dundela. The previous campaign proved a commendable one. Despite a massive mid-season turnover of players and a managerial switch, the east Belfast club mustered a fourth-placed finish having also reached the County Antrim…
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Euro 2024 may have been a step too far for this NI group, but it might not be next time around
That taste of ‘Sweet Norn Iron’ has felt so bitter for so long. Entering the clash with Denmark with qualification hopes all but a figment of the past, it was perhaps a tad rueful that it took until the final match of Euro 2024 qualifying to finally beat a team not named San Marino. But…
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Northern Ireland’s four injury-enforced call-ups deserve a chance to shine with the pressure off
It’s come at short notice and, ostensibly, knowing a spanner was thrown into his works, but Michael O’Neill has thrown a few more young guns into the Northern Ireland fold. Injury has hit his existing panel before the clashes with Finland and Denmark – the respective penultimate and final rounds of Euro 2024 qualifying –…
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Comber Rec and Crumlin Star go the distance to set up a tasty Steel and Sons Final showdown
The Steel and Sons Final line-up has been decided for another year, and the two teams that will jostle to make Christmas the most wonderful time of the year for themselves and their supporters have been deduced. Through six rounds of competition, all cup hopefuls bar two within the intermediate County Antrim FA sphere have…
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NIFL’s bold plan to change the season structure could prove genius… but they must make sure all bases are covered
Summer football is a hot topic in the Irish League. Some agree with the idea, others disagree and, invariably, those in each camp have their reasons for whether they would retain or alter the structure of the season. For many traditionalists, festive occasions like the regional cup Finals and the slate of Boxing Day derbies…
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Both Coleraine and Sky Sports missed out on Conor McKendry’s wing wizardry in dour draw
‘A great advert for the Irish League’ is a cliché that is repeated so much that you may as well have it as your phrase of choice when teaching your pet parrot how to speak. Fear not, though; you wouldn’t have heard a peep of that following Monday night’s Sports Direct Premiership clash between Coleraine…
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