Tag: Sports Direct Premiership
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Premiership title picture changed beyond recognition in 120 seconds… but twists not over yet
Have you caught your breath yet? Small moments can make the biggest differences. One goal or, in this case, two just seconds apart across two sides of the same city can change the entire complexion. Deep, deep into added-time, Linfield were shooting above Larne to the Sports Direct Premiership summit by a point as they…
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Linfield missed chance to hit summit… but not losing means it’s still a gain for David Healy
Glentoran and Linfield drew 0-0 in a fairly forgettable final Big Two derby of the 2023/24 season on Saturday night. A reduced crowd witnessed a stalemate in which both sides hit the woodwork, but it was a slow burner that struggled to ignite, and the affair is probably best summed up by the fact that…
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Six managers who could bring the glory days back to Glentoran and drive them to success
By Callum McFadden Glentoran will be on the search for a long-term successor to Warren Feeney in the summer of 2024, hoping to guide the club to better days after what has proved a disappointing 2023/24 Sports Direct Premiership campaign. After exiting the Irish Cup at the semi-final stage at the hands of Big Two…
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Cliftonville’s Irish Cup Final a red letter day, but victory over Larne a key confidence boost
As regurgitated as it is, Cliftonville’s Irish Cup record makes for one of the most perplexing statlines in any Irish League archive. Ireland’s oldest football club’s tale in Ireland’s oldest footballing cup competition is not really a joyous one; they’ve won it eight times, yet boast just a single honour since 1909. That’s one Irish…
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Treble-hunting Linfield have strength of character to finish job after booking Irish Cup Final
Linfield being in with a shout of a trophy treble shouldn’t sound as impressive as it is, but in a campaign where the book has been thrown at the Blues from seemingly all directions, a team where winning is par for the course have probably exceeded expectations in making that prospect a reality. They’ve had…
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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…
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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…
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Removal of post-split schedule misaligns Premier Intermediate from rest of Irish League
There’s been much change in the Playr-Fit Premier Intermediate League however you see it. What was a 12-team league, in alignment with the Premiership and Championship at least in respect of its size, is now a restructured 14-team division as of the summer of 2023. As we all know, administration was the domineering talking point…
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