Tag: Playr-Fit Championship
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Portadown showed mettle in BetMcLean Cup Final, but promotion is the ultimate success
It proved one step too far in the end for Portadown in the BetMcLean Cup, but they certainly didn’t disgrace themselves under the spotlight on Sunday. The Ports, who eliminated three Premiership outfits en route to the decider, weren’t able to take down a fourth on trophy day as Linfield ran out 3-1 victors in…
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Linfield’s captain fantastic Jamie Mulgrew is perfect inspiration to Blues’ present and future
After Linfield defended their BetMcLean Cup crown at Windsor Park on Sunday, there was jubilation in the way you would expect a trophy win to be celebrated. Any trophy is there to be toasted and, although a club of the Blues’ stature will never be content just to stop at one, they are moments for…
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Linfield won BetMcLean Cup the hard way… ‘home advantage’ argument just doesn’t stick
Well, Linfield have done what Linfield tend to do, adding another trophy to their sizeable trophy cabinet in the form of the BetMcLean Cup. In front of over 9,000 interested spectators at Windsor Park, the Blues’ successful defence of a piece of silverware that’s rapidly risen in prominence in recent years thanks to its Sunday…
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Linfield are big favourites to retain BetMcLean Cup… but Portadown won’t go down quietly
The second of the Irish League’s three senior cup Finals is now upon us – the one that has, in recent years, attracted the biggest crowd of the lot. The NI Football League’s bold call to make the BetMcLean Cup decider a Sunday special, a day of the week when Irish League football has very…
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Glentoran’s eggs all in Irish Cup basket… that can work to their advantage against Linfield
After navigating a potentially tricky Irish Cup quarter-final against spirited Ballyclare Comrades in a professional manner, Glentoran are marching on in the Irish Cup and hungry to win it. As the only one of the remaining quartet in the tournament whose Sports Direct Premiership title chances are realistically dead and buried, it’s significant for the…
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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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