Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
CHAMPS AREN’T HOOPS UP AND CHAMPS TOO?
DOLLINGSTOWN sealed the title on Saturday and immediately set their sights on a double – and a return to the Irish League.
There was the familiar sight of champagne corks popping around Planter’s Park to toast successive league titles.
And as well as the strong stuff there was seven-up on the Dollybirds’ minds as they steamrollered Fivemiletown to claim the trophy in style.
They travel to Crystal Park for the final of the Marshall Cup on Friday evening against holders Crewe United.
After that there’s the small matter of a crucial two-legged play-off against either Glebe Rangers or Bangor for the right to join next season’s Premier Intermediate League.
Little chance of savouring their back-to-back league titles, then.
But boss Stephen Uprichard couldn’t be happier and heaped praise on his title-winning players.
“They’ve been superb, full credit to them,” he told Match on Tuesday.
“There are a lot of good teams in our league and I’d like to pay tribute to them all.
“Even Camlough who finished bottom, we scraped through against them 3-2 with the winner coming right at the end.
“We found it difficult early in the season and dropped a few points but it wasn’t a case of us playing badly, more the opposition playing really well.
“The overall standard of the league has been really high and we’ve been pushed all the way.
“We’ve won every match since Christmas and we had to do it.
“Credit to our boys – they got themselves up for every challenge that was put in front of them and never gave up on a