Tag: Sports Direct Premiership
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Oft-unsung Ronan Doherty is ready to rise out of Chris Gallagher’s shadow at Cliftonville
It was an eventful week that ended in a flourish for Cliftonville, who continue to put their title credentials on show despite the seemingly incessant rumours linking their stars with moves away in January and the summer. The drawn-out saga over one such, Chris Gallagher, finally met an end when the midfielder’s exit to Larne…
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Callum Marshall’s senior West Ham debut cherry on top of a week of dreams for club’s NI cohort
It’s been a tremendous couple of weeks for the Irish League-bred cohort of youngsters at West Ham United, with a cherry on top arriving in midweek. On Tuesday night, there was a long-awaited first-team debut for striker Callum Marshall in the Hammers’ 1-0 FA Cup Third Round defeat at Bristol City. Despite being unable to…
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Momentum is the key theme as BetMcLean Cup Semi-Final double-header tees up tasty decider
Another BetMcLean Cup showpiece has been determined after the two semi-finals reached their conclusions during the week. Surviving overnight rain and frost to take place as scheduled, the premise of a last-four clash is based on being cold-blooded when your chances come along – and while neither encounter may not live too long in the…
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Europe is Coleraine’s last hope in 2023/24… and Oran Kearney must show steel to get them there
To say that Coleraine have found the going tough this season would be something of an understatement. At the weekend, a turbulent campaign arguably hit a new nadir when they were swept aside by Glentoran at The BetMcLean Oval, routed 6-0 with the hosts’ hat-trick hero David Fisher doing the bulk of the damage. It’s…
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Online rumblings over Glentoran’s purported financial woes show dark side of rumour mill
When you are working in as localised a playing field as the Irish League, rumours are bound to spread and conjecture is sure to emerge. That’s understandable. The climate is such that everybody knows everybody, so to speak; every matchgoing supporter knows a player, a coach, a committee member or someone bound to be privy…
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Institute’s comeback win in table-topper duel at Dundela could be a watershed in Championship title race
The chase for promotion into the Premiership is an intense dash, so when the two primary pacesetters in the second-tier collided at Wilgar Park, it could well have been a case of an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object. Not so, as it proved – in fact, following their head-on clash on Tuesday night, the…
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Bringing back salary cap a small step but giant leap towards professionalism in the Irish League
The hive of discussion on how to improve the Irish League is always abuzz. Whether on or off the pitch, the spoken, overarching ambition of organisation CEO Gerard Lawlor is to see greater professionalism throughout the NI Football League. Earlier in the season, the former Cliftonville chairman unveiled the league body’s five-year plan titled ‘A…
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Gary Boyle’s return to Warrenpoint Town is the perfect move for all parties
Having departed his role as Newry City manager following the side’s 4-0 Boxing Day defeat to Glenavon, Gary Boyle is back in the game. The 36-year-old, who took up the mantle at The Showgrounds having served as his predecessor Darren Mullen’s long-time assistant in the summer of 2023, announced that he’d be stepping down as…
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