Limavady United v Aquinas Newington v East Belfast Rathfriland Rangers v Lisburn Rangers Tobermore United v Larne Tech OB Tullycarnet v Armagh City Skipper believes Island squad’s
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GREENISLAND captain Ryan Greer believes his club have learned from their title nearmiss last season as they hunt down early frontrunners Rosemount.
Stuarty Mcclean’s men have made an excellent start to life in the Intermediate ranks after moving into 1C over the summer as 2A runners-up, dropping just five points from a possible 24 so far.
As one of the division’s new boys, the Glenkeen Avenue outfit began the new campaign with little to no pressure, but only Plunkett, who pipped them to the title last season, and the league leaders have made a better start, with Lee Cathcart’s men chalking up an 11th straight win with a 5-0 demolition of Suffolk on Saturday.
Greenisland won emphatically themselves at the weekend, delivering arguably their best performance of the season as they stormed to a 5-0 win at Woodvale, one of the teams tipped as a potential challenger for 1C, with Simon Moffett, Johnny Mcclurg, Paul Mccord and Matty Sinclair (2) all on target at Clarendon.
It was another big statement of intent from Greenisland, with Greer acknowledging the result may well have made the rest of the division sit up and take notice.
“I see us beating any team in the Amateur League, I think we have the squad there on our day to beat any team,” he said.
“With our win yesterday, going away up there and winning 5-0, people are maybe starting to look at us now as potential top three and we definitely want to be pushing for promotion.
“We seem to be pushing on now and progressing now in front of goal because we were struggling in front of goal there for a few weeks.
“And that’s five clean sheets in the league and four in the cups as well.
“It took us a couple of games to get going I think, we started the season a wee bit slow, obviously we started the league with a defeat so I don’t think we started too well considering how we are doing now in the league, but gradually I think we started to pick it up.
“But we’ve had five clean sheets in the league so our record there is very good and one loss so far is not too bad to start off the new season.”
Last time round, Greenisland led 2A right up until the final few weeks, only to surrender the title during the run-in after a long, unbeaten run from their rivals Plunkett.
Greer reckons they were dead on their feet towards the end but is confident they will be more streetwise this season for their experiences.
“Last year, I just think we ran out of steam the last four or five weeks,” said Greer. “We are hard trainers, we put it in, and I think we just ran
AQUINAS’ first foray into the country’s blue riband cup competition came last year in their debut season in Intermediate football, but was something of a damp squib as they exited in the first round at the hands of Albert
Foundry. But with the feelgood factor of their 50th anniversary celebrations last week still felt around the club, they have fared better on their second attempt, having overcome Craigavon City in the last round to make it this far. Irish
League outfit Limavady away from home is quite a step up for the south Belfast outfit, however, who will surely need to be at their very best to take anything from the game.
THE last two champions of the Steel & Sons Cup meet this Saturday as in-form East Belfast, fresh from a 9-0 home romp over Drumaness at the weekend, travel to Newington, themselves riding high in the NIFL’S Premier Intermediate with three wins from three. As the higher-ranked team, the Ton will naturally fancy themselves, but the East will pose a massive threat, particularly with prolific striker Danny Purkis enjoying another purple patch in front of goal, with his five goals at the weekend taking his tally for the season to 31… and not yet November.
WITH just two wins so far in the league, Billy Youle’s priorities in his first season with Lisburn Rangers lie elsewhere. Nevertheless, the cups usually represent a welcome distraction and something different from the pressure of getting points in the league. As ever, former Glentoran forward and Puskas Award nominee Matty Burrows will provide a threat for the visitors, but with home advantage Premier Division side Rathfriland Rangers will be fancied to make their superiority count.
AFTER a relatively sluggish start set against last year’s superb title-winning season,
Larne Tech have belatedly hit some form, winning four on the trot including
Saturday’s Steel Cup quarter-final against St
James Swifts. Last year, as well as the league, they marched to the last 16 of the Irish Cup, eventually falling to Warrenpoint Town. Manager Johnny Hastings (circled) and co will no doubt be targeting something similar this season and will fancy their chances against an out-of-sorts Tobermore United, still searching for their first league win of the season.
IT’S been a strange kind of a campaign for Tullycarnet so far, characterised by inconsistency. Alongside some big wins, including Saturday’s 8-0 rout of an admittedly struggling Iveagh United, the Dundonald men have also endured quite a few setbacks, with their weekend win ending a sequence of three straight league defeats. But if Saturday is to mark a turning point, their season could really get lift-off should they take the scalp of Irish League outfit Armagh City, seemingly ripe for the picking as they languish near the bottom of the NIFL’S Premier Intermediate.
RACE IS ON Jonathan Mcclurg fights it out with Woodvale rival Thomas Borrow
COR BLIMEY Paul Mccord celebrates after finding the net against Woodvale
LOVE ISLAND Boss Stuarty Mcclean and two-goal Matthew Sinclair in action