Category: Premiership
-
Principled Loughgall’s fantastic season down to spirit, trust and honesty in themselves
Dean Smith didn’t pull any punches at the weekend when reflecting on the pre-season perception of his newly-promoted Loughgall outfit. “If you’d have read every report the week before the season started, every single person had us tipped to go down – and straight down,” he said. “Probably with five games to go, they had…
-
It’s been far from a classic season for Coleraine… but top-six place shows their resilience
Credit where it’s due – it’s been a turbulent campaign for Coleraine but, barring a miraculous five-goal victory for Carrick Rangers on Easter Tuesday, a top-six spot for the split has been secured and a place in the European play-offs guaranteed. It’s been far from easy, and the Bannsiders know to expect better from themselves…
-
Larne and Linfield’s six-hits keep heat on at top… and Jordan Stewart’s return can boost Blues
There’s no stopping Linfield and Larne at the top of the table, with both sides barely breaking a sweat on their way to comprehensively hitting their visitors for six at the weekend. The Blues swatted away the challenge of Newry City at Windsor Park but they were matched goal for goal by the Invermen, who…
-
Tying down revelatory Shea Kearney to 2027 may already be Cliftonville’s signing of the summer
If you’re picking out a breakthrough star from the Sports Direct Premiership this season, the meteoric rise of Cliftonville’s Shea Kearney can hardly be overlooked. The Lurgan lad has been in spectacular form for the Reds – and it was music to the ears of the supporters when news of his two-year contract extension at…
-
Glentoran have tools to be a success story… but it all depends on finding right manager
Here’s the long and short of it – the news of Warren Feeney’s Glentoran departure had been coming. After a humbling 3-0 home defeat to Loughgall and over a dozen supporters’ clubs declaring their message of no confidence in the former Northern Ireland striker, what was an already precarious position for the man in the…
-
Rise of future stars like Lewis Barr ensures Crusaders set up nicely for post-Baxter era
It will be a summer of seismic change at Crusaders knowing that two of the club’s all-time greats will depart – but with a new era soon dawning, not all change will come with apprehension. After 19 years, Stephen Baxter will exit the Seaview hotseat as the Crues’ most iconic figure, while one of his…
-
Larne have played January market to a tee and will keep competitive edge because of it
At the start of the winter window of 2024, I wrote on this site that January would play a key role in deciding who would emerge as Sports Direct Premiership champions come the close of the season. Larne took that notion to heart on Friday night, and it is no surprise that they are in…
-
Mentality monsters Larne will be wary that outsiders Glentoran can still dent title race
The race for Gibson Cup glory took one fresh turn in the path in midweek and will wind down another on Friday night. Question marks hanging over Linfield are now Cliftonville’s to bear the brunt of following the visitors’ 3-0 success at Solitude in midweek, as a trio of second-half strikes put the Blues back…
Football Chatters 