Author: Lewis Bennett
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Defences can win titles in the Irish League… but sometimes attack is the best form of it
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…
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Improving Dungannon Swifts perfectly placed to launch shock surge into European Play-Offs
With just five rounds left until the split in the Sports Direct Premiership, permutations all across the league are being discussed ahead of a crunch climax. A three-team title race is now led by Larne, inspired to a 2-0 triumph over Loughgall courtesy of Scottish striker Andy Ryan’s brace on Friday night. That fired the…
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Sion Swifts’ Premiership exit can still open a prosperous new chapter in their history
A couple of months before the start of the 2024 women’s domestic football season, the NI Football League was dealt a blow with the news that one of the top-flight’s best-performing clubs has withdrawn from the division. On Monday, it was revealed that Sion Swifts Ladies, the fourth-placed finishers in the Sports Direct Women’s Premiership…
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Stephen Baxter built a winning culture from rock bottom at Crusaders… his greatest legacy
Stephen Baxter will walk away from Seaview at the end of the 2023/24 campaign as the greatest Crusader ever. The Hatchetmen have been treated to bundles of success during the 58-year-old’s tenure in charge on the Shore Road; almost two decades of unparalleled glory in the club’s entire history. Three Premiership titles, four Irish Cups,…
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Rising star Odhran Casey’s last-gasp heroics for Cliftonville shows spirit goes a long way
It’s fair to say that Ireland’s oldest football club have taken a notion of adding a few years of aging to their supporters in recent times. The same was true on Tuesday night. For a third away game in a row, Cliftonville have made a personal gain in additional time at the expense of an…
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Ten of the brightest lights of the 2023/24 Sports Direct Premiership campaign
By Callum McFadden The Sports Direct Premiership has thrown up more twists and turns and is on the cusp of a dramatic climax, with a three-horse title race at one end, a tense fight for a European Play-Off place in the middle and a dogfight to escape the relegation battle at the bottom. Some existing…
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Home advantage can help promotion-chasing Institute and Portadown spring Irish Cup shocks
With the last-16 out of the way, the Irish Cup quarter-finals will be the point of focus come the first week in March as four Premiership versus Championship clashes were revealed on Saturday. In two cases, the lower-league side is the one at home; a meeting of the first and second-tier pacesetters with Institute entertaining…
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BBC NI spot on to show Ballymacash versus Glentoran in Irish Cup… and it sets a precedent
When the Irish Cup Sixth Round draw was revealed, I penned an article shortly after listing my clear preference for the coveted BBC Northern Ireland broadcast slot. And with the last-eight draw having been made, I still say the national broadcaster’s decision to screen said suggested match to an international audience was spot on. Yes,…
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