MAXIE SWAIN THE BUS

By Busby: We’re not going to Shamrock to throw in the towel, miracles do happen... so why not for us

JONATHAN BUSBY admits Abbey Villa are loving the thought of seeing their name up in lights as the giantkillers of the day in this weekend’s Irish Cup.

The Amateur League men make the trip to Shamrock Park to take on Portadown in the fifth round of the competition this Saturday, with few offering them any hope of stunning Matty Tipton’s men.

The Ports may not be the force they once were, but they are bang in contention for a return to the top flight, poised three points off second-placed Carrick Rangers with a game in hand following back-toback wins over Christmas.

Crucially, Tipton has restored belief on the pitch and some semblance of stability behind the scenes after the turbulence of the last few years, with the Ports considered massive favourites to make the next round.

None of which bothers Busby too much. The Adams Park chief is realistic about the challenge which awaits them this Saturday, and he concedes that if the Ports are on it, then it’s curtains for his team.

But he has no intention of going there and throwing in the towel, and is equally adamant that it’s not beyond his team, emboldened by their Clarence Cup win over Crumlin Star at the weekend, to go and get a result.

“Can we beat Portadown, miracles can happen,” said Busby.

“There’s nothing to say we can’t do it, it’s happened before.

“Will they underestimate us, I don’t think so, I don’t expect Matty Tipton to do that but I have full faith in my players to work their socks off and we’re looking forward to it. “We’re going down there and basically trying to give a good account of ourselves. “We go down obviously with respect for Portadown, they are obviously a massive football club but we go down with no fear. “There’s no pressure on us, all the pressure is on Portadown. If they can’t beat us, there is something wrong, but we go into the game buoyed by Saturday, the victory over Crumlin Star.

“So we go down there to try to keep it tight, stay in the game as long as possible and give ourselves a fighting chance.

“There’s only been one game so far this season where we haven’t scored, so I’ll always back our forwards to score against anybody and Portadown are no different.

“They have their weaknesses too, there’s no doubt about that, and Matty’s been giving youth a chance. I think that’s the way they have to go.

“For players to watch out for, Sean Mackle is an absolutely outstanding player, Kevin Braniff has won pretty much everything there is to win, Jamie Douglas and Luke Wilson in the middle of the park.

“I know he’s only a kid but I watched him a few years ago and he was out of this world so they have players who, if they turn it on against us on Saturday, we’re in for a tough day, but these are the games you want to play in.”

Earlier in the season, Busby told Match On Tuesday that he would consider a fourth-placed finish in the league as success.

But he hadn’t reckoned on going so well in the cups and now believes that whatever happens between now and May, the current campaign, and in particular their run in the Irish Cup, has made this a memorable one.

“At the start of the season, I was asked where I wanted to finish and I said top four, no worse than last season,” explained the Abbey Villa boss.

“But you get seasons where you can have a good season and finish fourth and no one remembers it, but we’ve had a season where we might not finish that high up in the league because we have done so well in the cups.

“But we have had a lot of highlights, we’ve had a lot of media coverage and whenever you are trying to bring players to the football club, that’s the things that players remember, so it’s been a great season and gone a lot better than I probably could have imagined and we’re just enjoying it.”