Tag: Windsor Park
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Steven Davis always stood tall through the good and bad… that’s why he’s a Northern Ireland titan
One of Northern Ireland’s greatest-ever servants has called time on his career and leaves a void that will take a long, long time to fill. At the age of 39 and after a glittering career both at club and international level, midfielder Steven Davis has called time on his playing career. The Cullybackey icon’s 140…
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Upset value in the Irish Cup on full display in the Fifth Round… with every chance of continuing
In the Irish Cup Sixth Round, there were three all-Premiership ties pulled out of the hat that all but confirms the amount of top-flight clubs will have at least been slashed in half from the last-32 by the time the quarter-finals roll around. League leaders Linfield will host relegation-battling Ballymena United, second-placed Larne entertain Glenavon…
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Ballymacash Rangers’ Irish Cup showdown with Glentoran pick of the last-16 ties for TV billing
When the Irish Cup Fifth Round draw was made, intermediate representation in the last-16 had already been rubber-stamped when Oxford Sunnyside of the Mid-Ulster League learned that they would face Premier Intermediate League opposition in Ballymacash Rangers. It was history in itself for The ‘Cash, who were featuring at this stage of the blue-riband 143-year-old…
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Five-star Ballyclare Comrades sign off Dixon Park grass pitch era with flourish in Irish Cup
Ballyclare Comrades began their 2024 with the end of an era, progressing into the Sixth Round of the Irish Cup but saying a heartfelt goodbye to their days on grass at Dixon Park. Their 5-2 victory over Strabane Athletic was the final first-team match at the east Antrim venue before a new artificial surface is…
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Linfield haven’t been bogged down by haves and have nots… it’s a pure winning mentality
The inevitability of Linfield Football Club strikes again. Despite key bodies being unavailable, despite the chips appearing to be down, despite the outside financial investment around them, there has never been any withering of their title ambitions. It’s the way David Healy’s team are built. They never make excuses for themselves, even in moments like…
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However the Euro 2028 construction process plays out, it must be handled with perspective
Northern Ireland is set to play a hosting part in the Euro 2028 Finals, with the redevelopment of Casement Park set to start in early 2024 to make it happen. A home away from home, the west Belfast venue is not one accustomed to hosting association football – rather, it is the historical heart and…
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Euro 2024 may have been a step too far for this NI group, but it might not be next time around
That taste of ‘Sweet Norn Iron’ has felt so bitter for so long. Entering the clash with Denmark with qualification hopes all but a figment of the past, it was perhaps a tad rueful that it took until the final match of Euro 2024 qualifying to finally beat a team not named San Marino. But…
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Northern Ireland’s four injury-enforced call-ups deserve a chance to shine with the pressure off
It’s come at short notice and, ostensibly, knowing a spanner was thrown into his works, but Michael O’Neill has thrown a few more young guns into the Northern Ireland fold. Injury has hit his existing panel before the clashes with Finland and Denmark – the respective penultimate and final rounds of Euro 2024 qualifying –…
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