Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
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Rathfriland’s Roy knows Olympic could hurt ya if they don’t put on a shining display
Ballynahinch Olympic v Rathfriland, Tomorrow, Seaview, 2.30pm
RATHFRILAND skipper Jonny Roy insists you get nothing for free in football as he braces himself for a bruising Border Cup battle against Ballynahinch Oympic at Seaview tomorrow.
The full back rejoined the Whites after less than a year at his local club East Belfast where he played a starring role in their Clarence Cup win last May, rifling home a brilliant winner in extra-time at Park Way.
But having started that final on the bench, and acknowledging he would likely be in and out again this season, he opted for a return to Iveagh Park where he was handed the armband not long after his arrival when goalkeeper David Ferguson made the reverse journey to Inverary Avenue.
And so far, the switch has worked out nicely, with Roy already bagging a Bob Radcliffe Cup medal after they edged out Dungannon under20s on Boxing Day, while he stands on the brink
of a second Border Cup winner’s medal having been part of the Rathfriland side which broke their duck in the competition under Paul Kirk three years ago.
In fact, Roy wasn’t just a part of the side, he was its driving force, emerging the matchwinner in the semi-final with a long range piledriver against Comber before grabbing one of the best goals ever witnessed in the decider as he dispatched Ally Wilson’s raking 40-yard pass with a exquisite volley from just inside the box.
So it’s fair to say Roy has a knack for coming up with the goods in these kinds of games, but he’s adamant Rathfriland will have to dig deep for whatever they earn against an in-form Olympic outfit tomorrow.
Roy said: “You would probably say they are favourites in terms of their league position, they have won every match they have played this season (in the Amateur League).
“So I would imagine they will be very confident, and they were very unlucky not to win it last year, getting beat on penalties, their keeper (Ryan Walsh) played a blinder last year in the final.
“If he plays the way he did last year, I would say they’ll not be too far away from winning it, but we are quietly confident ourselves that we can do the business on the day.
“But we’ll be taking nothing for granted here, we need to turn up and perform the best we can and just hope that the 50:50 decisions go our way on the day.
“You need a bit of luck but you need to turn up for it. If your name’s on it, your name’s on it, but you get nothing given to you on a plate.
“But out of the Amateur League competitions, the Border and the Clarence, the Border is by far the better one to win, there is more about it, more of an atmosphere around it with it being over the Christmas period and all that.
“It’s a final that everyone really wants to be a part of every season and at the minute, all focus is on Wednesday here.”
Whether their Bob Radcliffe triumph will have any bearing on their attitude tomorrow, Roy was unsure, except to say he expects another stern examination after Dixie Robinson’s young guns gave them the runaround at Stangmore Park.
“They were a different sort of team from what we are used to playing,” said Roy.
“They were young and fit and they keep the ball on the deck and they were very, very unlucky not to win it themselves but I’m happy for myself that they didn’t.
“But going into this game, I don’t think we are more relaxed or anything like that, I think that’s maybe the wrong way of putting it, I just feel because we have got the win in the Bob Radcliffe, that gives us a wee bit of a cushion.
“If we were to lose it, it wouldn’t feel as bad because at least we have won something but because we have the appetite for winning, we want to win more, so it really just depends what way you look at it.”