Tag: North Belfast
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Why Cliftonville’s latest quest for Irish Cup glory draws so much from success of 1979
Cliftonville are within touching distance of the Irish Cup Final – a sound that sets alarm bells ringing more than anything these days. The Reds’ progression in Ireland’s oldest footballing cup competition, of which they are a founder member and have won eight times but only once since 1909, is akin to an ambitious mountain…
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More than meets the eye behind quartet of Premiership vs Championship Irish Cup ties
The Sports Direct Premiership is on pause for a weekend and the Clearer Water Irish Cup is at the centre of attentions as the top-flight’s leading four each face clashes of a different kind. NI Football League CEO Gerard Lawlor has previously put on record his vision of a so-called ‘weekend of football’ stretching from…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Crunch clash of wounded Linfield and red-hot Cliftonville is ultimate mentality battle
The split is within touching distance, the pressure is mounting and a three-way title race is still a three-way title race. That said, an alarming dip in form for Linfield at precisely the wrong moment has thrown a fresh spanner in the works. Larne and Cliftonville continue to motor on having gone 36 games unbeaten…
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Top-six face-offs poised to cap off massive week of decision in Championship title race
A highly charged Playr-Fit Championship title race that is too close for comfort took a fresh twist in midweek when Dundela defeated Bangor at Wilgar Park – and the weekend fixture list could be make-or-break as far as promotion challenges and top-half ambitions are concerned. That’s because the top six all face each other in…
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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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