Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
MAGIC OF THE SEASON
Gowdy: Winning in 2017 was a great feeling By Linfield Swifts skipper Trai Hume aims to get his hands on silverware
RICHARD GOWDY says he desperate to savour some more of that magical Christmas Day glory he experienced two years ago.
The 24-year-old Newington skipper is one of just a handful of survivors from what remains Newington’s finest hour, eclipsing all those Amateur League titles they amassed under Eamonn Mccarthy and even the famous slaying of Glentoran in the Irish Cup back in 2012.
That day, Padraig Scollay made the decisive contribution to clinch a maiden Steel Cup for the Ton, grabbing the only goal of the game as Davy Dorrian’s high-flying Linfield Swifts were shot down at Seaview.
Fast forward 24 months, and it’s the same opposition standing in their way, but Gowdy is confident lightning can strike twice as they look to make it two from two and take their place in the history books.
“It’s arguably my favourite memory in football so far, it was outstanding, what a day,” said the former Cliftonville midfielder.
“It’s one of the longest-running competitions in the country, and the whole thing about Christmas Day, turning up to a big crowd for a final, it’s hard to beat.
“I experienced it a couple of years ago and you want it every year. You might only get it once in your life, I’m lucky enough to get it twice in three years… you can’t let these games pass you by.
“It wasn’t all plain-sailing on the day, it was a bit of a dogfight, but it was a cup final, you win it whatever way you can.”
Indeed, two years ago was all about heart for Newington. They came into the tie in bad form and unfancied, but just as they had done the whole way through the competition, they rallied round each other to dig out a result.
“At the time, we were in the bottom three in the league but we always seemed to find a way in the Steel & Sons that year, I think in every round we came from a goal down,
SEE PAGE 7 we always found ourselves behind but got our way back into it,” explained Gowdy.
“And in the final, I don’t think any team performed particularly well, whoever wanted it more won it, we got ourselves in that position and took it with both hands.
“But I think we are a better team now, we are more well-rounded.
“The past few years, since I joined the club, we seemed to leak a lot of goals but now we have shored that up a bit so that let’s us concentrate on taking our chances.
“We really need to hit the net when chances arise and look, I have no doubt our forwards, midfielders or defenders, whoever gets a chance will take it.
“Our team has changed an awful lot since the last time, there’s only a handful of us remain, so some of us have the experience, and some of them have the hunger after missing out a couple of years ago, they want to experience it so it’s a good mix of both.
“The boys are confident and playing well, if we turn up and stick to our gameplan then we can do it.”