Irish League Football

Image source, Inpho

Glentoran moved back into second place in the Irish Premiership thanks to a 2-1 victory over Coleraine at the Oval on Tuesday night.

BBC Sport NI caught up with both managers after the first post-split fixture for the top six sides.

Glentoran boss Declan Devine on ending a run of five games without a win in all competitions: "Our guys, even though there was a bit of anxiety over recent performances and results, we needed to stand up and be counted.

"I felt every single player that went on that pitch really gave a shift and really worked hard.

"That's testimony to the players, there's been nobody hurting more than them over the last couple of weeks."

On finishing the season with four away games: "We're playing potentially at home for the last time this year.

"Our fans have been incredible right throughout the year in good times and bad times.

"They've stuck by us and really got behind us. The message tonight was to please send them home happy with three points."

Coleraine manager Dean Shiels on missed chances in the second half: "It was unbelievable that we didn't come away scoring three or four. 

"When you come to the Oval, it's very difficult to create as many clear cut chances as we did.

"It's very disappointing to come away with nothing."

On the fight for European play-off seeding in the top six: "This is a year we're trying to finish as high up the table as we can.

"Every game is important, because it's so congested with ourselves and Dungannon and Crusaders.

"We know that one win can take you up one or two places. Every game is going to be difficult.

"We've four left, three at home, one away, and we'll keep fighting to the end."

Image source, Press Eye

The Irish Premiership split begins on Tuesday night and there is a tight race for European football with five matches to play.

Linfield have already been crowned champions and will lift the Gibson Cup for a record-extending 57th time against rivals Glentoran on Saturday, 5 April.

Behind that, the race for a second place and automatic European qualification is tight, with just five points separating the remaining five teams in the top half of the table.

Larne, whose two-year title run was halted by Linfield, and Glentoran are in a strong position to contend for second place.

Both are level on points and Larne only hold the advantage by just two goals.

If either slip up, then Dungannon Swifts and Crusaders are poised to pounce with a late charge.

Just four points off second, the Swifts and Crues are level on 50 points. Not only do the Swifts have a small goal difference advantage, but Rodney McAree's side are also in the Irish Cup final and can secure automatic European qualification if they beat Cliftonville in the Windsor Park decider.

Coleraine are also in the mix after a recent upturn in form. The Bannsiders are an outside bet for the automatic spot, but know their run of six matches undefeated has guaranteed them a play-off place no matter what happens above them.

You can watch Dungannon Swifts v Larne on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website on Tuesday, 1 April at 19:45 BST.

Image source, Press Eye

The post-regular season split in the Irish Premiership begins on Tuesday and there is still plenty to play for with five games to go.

In the bottom half of the table it seems a case of if, not when, Loughgall's relegation to the Championship will be confirmed.

The Villagers, who will play their first match under new manager Darren Murphy on Tuesday against Ballymena United, are nine points behind Carrick Rangers, and have a worse goal difference.

Should Loughgall lose to Ballymena, and Carrick defeat Cliftonville, then Loughgall's relegation would be all but confirmed.

Stephen Baxter's Carrick are in no man's land in 11th, and will likely face a relegation/promotion play-off against a Championship side.

Irish Cup semi-finalists Bangor are currently eight points clear at the top of the second tier and look set for automatic promotion, while there are a host of teams behind - including H&W Welders, Limavady United and Annagh United - who could take on Carrick for the final place in next season's Premiership.

Glenavon are also isolated in 10th position, but above that there is a race for the European play-off spot.

Cliftonville currently hold that advantage in seventh, and are level on points with Portadown, while Ballymena United are just three points behind.

The team that finishes in seventh position will qualify for a European play-off, but Cliftonville can also qualify for Europe by winning the Irish Cup.

In the event that Jim Magilton's Reds win the Irish Cup and finish seventh, the European play-off will consist of teams in the top half.

However, if Cliftonville finish outside the top seven and beat Dungannon Swifts in the Windsor Park final, then it is likely that seventh will face sixth in a play-off quarter-final before third through fifth enter at the semi-final stage.

Image source, Inpho

Bangor manager Lee Feeney said everyone in the Seasiders' dressing room had been left with the same feeling of a missed opportunity after they lost 2-0 to Dungannon Swifts in Saturday's Irish Cup semi-final.

Kyle Owens' first-half own goal and Dean Curry's headed goal 10 minutes from time condemned the Championship leaders to defeat against Rodney McAree's charges, who sit fourth in the Premiership table.

"The one word is regret. We felt going in at half-time that because of the conditions, we had the wind for us in the second half, and we felt we were going to do a bit better," Feeney told BBC Sport NI.

"Everyone in the changing room comes away with the same feeling of regret because we feel like we could have made something happen there.

"We should have done a wee bit better with qualities and deliveries and intelligence in the final third but if we had got a wee bit of luck and had got the second goal with a bit of time left they would have felt the pressure and their mentality would have changed and so would ours, for the better.

"It wasn't to be and they defended really, really well at times, so congratulations to them. We weren't consistent enough, we played in wee periods here and there."

Image source, Pacemaker

Dungannon Swifts manager Rodney McAree says there were "a few tears in the dugout" in the closing minutes of his side's 2-0 Irish Cup semi-final win over Bangor as the realisation that the county Tyrone side were about to book a place in the decider against Cliftonville sunk in.

Kyle Owens' first-half own goal and Dean Curry's header in the second period ensured Dungannon's passage to the May 3 showpiece at Windsor Park.

It will be the Stangmore Park club's second appearance in an Irish Cup final - McAree was part of the team which went down to Linfield on penalties in the 2007 final.

"It's something I've dreamt of all my life. Obviously I'm a Dungannon Swifts lad, it's my club," McAree told BBC Radio Ulster's Sportsound programme.

"I always had an ambition that I wanted to play in an Irish Cup final with Dungannon Swifts and as soon as I started doing my coaching badges I knew that I wanted to be a manager or a head coach in an Irish Cup final and to be the head coach at Dungannon Swifts and go to an Irish Cup final on 3 May is something special, something that we'll look forward to and something that I'll take great pride in."

A swirling breeze made for difficult conditions at Seaview on Saturday.

"Conditions today were extremely difficult. I thought we controlled the game in the first half, in the second we knew that the long ball from Bangor was always going to put us under pressure with the conditions as they were.

"It was just reward for Dean to score the second goal, the goal that sealed our place in the final, it's truly fantastic."

Swifts are now looking ahead to locking horns with the Reds, who are aiming to retain the trophy they won for the first time in 45 years last season.

"Anyone involved with the Irish League wants to be in an Irish Cup final. We have a great game to look forward to," added McAree.

"Cliftonville, we know what sort of backing they come with. There'll be a good crowd at Windsor Park.

"It's a game only two clubs in the country will be involved in and we're one of them. That's truly amazing. We'll go there and try to give a good account of ourselves and try to win it."

Image source, Press Eye

Cliftonville striker Joe Gormley said that his side are determined to retain the Irish Cup to honour their late teammate Michael Newberry.

Gormley scored the opening goal in the 3-0 semi-final win against Ards as the Reds booked their place in a second successive final.

Members of Newberry's family were in the crowd for the last-four tie, and Gormley hopes they can celebrate with the team again if they win the final on Saturday, 3 May.

"We would love Michael to be here and be part of the team while playing but we will always remember him and hopefully come the final we can bring home the cup for him," Gormley told BBC Sport NI.

The striker showed composure to fire the Reds ahead against their Championship opposition and was relieved to play his part in helping Cliftonville reach another final

"I was just on my toes, and I was glad it found the back of the net because we were a bit edgy, we were snapping at everything," he explained.

"It's amazing to be in another final, at Cliftonville you want to play in the big occasions, the League Cup final was incredible as was last year's Irish Cup final so we're hoping to get our hands on it for a second year in a row now."

The 35-year-old assisted substitute Ryan Corrigan for the third goal, unselfishly squaring the ball to the youngster after a mistake from Ards goalkeeper Alex Moore.

"In the League Cup final, he passed to me, so I owed him one!" Gormley joked.

He was in a better position, and it was to make it 3-0 so I was happy enough."

The forward said he has no preference for who the Reds face in the decider with Bangor taking on Dungannon Swifts in the other semi-final on Saturday.

"No matter who it is it will be a tough game, I will be clued in tomorrow night watching. Dungannon are a great side, they beat us at home recently and we played Bangor earlier in the season who are another great side."

Watch the highlights as holders Cliftonville book their place in another Irish Cup final after a comfortable 3-0 win against Championship side Ards in the semi-finals.

Read the report here.

Image source, Pacemaker Press

Ards manager John Bailie said that holders Cliftonville "fully deserved" their 3-0 Irish Cup semi-final win at Windsor Park.

Joe Gormley opened the scoring for the Reds before substitutes Alex Parsons and Ryan Corrigan added goals in the second half.

And Bailie believes his Championship side were beaten by a superior team as the Reds reached a second successive Irish Cup final.

"It's been a really tough night, we knew it would be tough, Cliftonville are a quality side, and they played some quality stuff tonight," he told BBC Sport NI.

"They fully deserved their win, they played really well and did a good number on us."

Bailie bemoaned Ards' misfortune with the few chances they created when the game was still in the balance as well as their naivety in being caught on the counter-attack by Cliftonville.

"We struggled for large parts tonight with their movement, but to be fair to our lads we stayed in the game for a long time," he added.

"At 1-0 we had a few half chances, and you need those to go in and at 2-0 we had the one [from Darius Roohi] that just goes over the crossbar.

"If we had a bit more quality it might have been a different game, but the last 10-15 minutes you could see the legs were gone and every time Cliftonville broke they looked as though they could score."

The Ards boss admitted the defeat would hurt for a while but he praised his players for making it to the last four, knocking out Premiership sides Ballymena United and Loughgall in the process.

"There will be disappointment, but they just have to suck that up and learn from the occasion, we can't dwell on it.

"We got beat by a team that can beat any team in the league. It is not a disgrace, we are not ashamed, I told the players to be proud of our cup run and their efforts.

"Tonight, we fell short, but we have to accept that."

Image source, Inpho

Dungannon Swifts manager Rodney McAree says managing his hometown club in an Irish Cup final would be "a dream come true".

The Stangmore Park club will face Championship leaders Bangor in the second of the semi-finals in this year's competition at Seaview on Saturday (17:30 GMT).

McAree was part of the side which went down to Linfield in a penalty shootout in the 2007 decider at Windsor Park and then guided his team to a League Cup success in 2018 during his first stint as Swifts boss.

"You always dreamt as a player about representing your club in the Irish Cup final which I was fortunate enough to do, even though we got beaten on penalty kicks that day," McAree told BBC Sport NI.

"Then when you take up the mantle of head coach, or any coaching role, you want to be involved in an Irish Cup final.

"It would be a dream come true if we were involved in it on the first Saturday in May but we know we have a lot of hard work to do to get there."

McAree's side sit fourth in the Irish Premiership table ahead of the upcoming five rounds of post-split fixtures and a cup final appearance and success would cap off what has been an exceptional season for the club so far.

"It would mean everything to me personally. Obviously I've grown up a mile from the ground. This is my club, this is where my heart is.

"It's a massive opportunity for the club to get to the final of a prestigious final like the Irish Cup and it's certainly one that we don't want to let pass us by."

Bangor were 3-1 victors over Premiership powerhouse Glentoran at the quarter-final stage earlier this month while Dungannon have claimed the scalps of fellow top flight outfits Coleraine and Carrick Rangers on their way to reaching the last four.

"Our mentality has to be right. It's going to be difficult, we're coming up against a Bangor side that are running away with the Championship," added McAree.

"We've had them watched on four occasions, I've watched them twice myself, so we feel as if we've done our homework.

"They have a lot of good players, a lot of threat. We saw what they did in the last round so we're well aware of the threats and the strengths that they have."

Image source, Presseye

Irish Premiership side Loughgall have announced former Dungannon Swifts boss Darren Murphy as their new manager on a three-year deal.

Murphy's appointment follows confirmation earlier this week of his departure as manager of League of Ireland First Division side Finn Harps.

He replaces former Villagers boss Dean Smith, who recently parted company with the struggling Lakeview Park outfit.

Loughgall sit nine points adrift of Carrick Rangers at the foot of the table, having won just four and drawn six of their 33 league matches to date this season.

The 50-year-old's previous coaching jobs also include being part of the backroom staff at both Linfield and Crusaders.

Loughgall chairman Sam Nicholson said: "We moved swiftly to appoint a new manager and after a thorough selection process, we believe Darren is the ideal candidate to drive Loughgall FC forward.

"His vision and expertise will be invaluable in developing our boys and girls youth academies.

"We are excited to see Darren's impact throughout the club and are committed to ensuring a successful future for Loughgall FC."

The current backroom staff will remain in place for next Tuesday's league game against Ballymena United, with Murphy in attendance.

Image source, Presseye

Cliftonville manager Jim Magilton says he expects his side to "rise to the challenge" when they face Ards in the first of the weekend's Irish Cup semi-finals at Windsor Park on Friday night.

The Reds are defending the trophy they won for the first time since 1979 by beating Linfield in last year's decider and last month the north Belfast club added the BetMcLean Cup to their silverware cabinet.

Ards have defeated Premiership opponents in the form of Ballymena United and Loughgall on their way to reaching the last four of the competition and are on a run of four consecutive wins in the Championship.

"They're winning games, they're very confident. We face a huge challenge, one that we're going to rise to," Magilton told BBC Sport NI.

"We know how confident a group they are. Winning games of football just breeds confidence.

"We recognise their strengths and we need to exploit whatever weaknesses are in their team. We're very determined to defend the Irish Cup."

The teams met earlier in the season in the first round of the County Antrim Shield in September, the Reds only advancing courtesy of a 9-8 penalty shootout success after the game ended 0-0.

"You look at Ards' record in the cup competitions this year, we played them here and they were so unlucky not to go through," reflected the Reds boss.

"They've had two major scalps in the Irish Cup and we're expecting a really tough game. They're very well organised, well coached, they've got players who can hurt you.

"They have certainly earned the right to play in an Irish Cup semi-final with a goal of reaching an Irish Cup final very much in their sights and we have to stand up and be counted."

Magilton believes his squad includes the kind of players who relish the opportunity of performing on the big occasions.

"The best players take the pressure on board. They love it, they love that stage, they want it, they crave it.

"They now have an opportunity to present themselves again and we'll see what happens," he added.

Image source, Inpho and Press Eye

And then there were four.

The finalists for the Irish Cup final on 3 May will be confirmed this weekend and here's how you can follow all the action across BBC Sport NI.

Who is in the semi-finals?

We have Premiership v Championship in both last four ties with Ards facing holders Cliftonville at Windsor Park on Friday and Bangor up against Dungannon Swifts at Seaview on Saturday.

Where can I watch the games?

Both games will be live on the BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport website with Ards v Cliftonville kicking off at 19:45 GMT on Friday and Bangor against Dungannon Swifts kicking off at 17:30 GMT on Saturday.

Michael Clarke and Tim McCann will call the action on Friday with Thomas Kane and Paul Leeman on duty on Saturday.

We'll also have live radio coverage of Bangor v Dungannon Swifts on BBC Radio Ulster and BBC Sounds with Michael Hammond joined by Darren Murphy in the commentary box.

There will be live text updates and in-game clips from both games on the website too.

How did the clubs get this far?

Holders Cliftonville began the defence of the Irish Cup with a routine 4-0 home win against Premier Intermediate side Banbridge Rangers in the fifth round.

Jim Magilton's side required extra-time to see off fellow Premiership side Glenavon 3-2 to secure their passage to the quarter-finals before Ryan Curran and Alex Parsons helped them overcome north Belfast rivals Crusaders 2-1 to book their place in the last four.

Winners in 1974, Ards caused an upset in round five by beating Premiership side Ballymena United 2-1 and then eased past Premier Intermediate outfit Moyola Park 3-1 in the next round.

In the last eight, John Bailie's side beat Premiership strugglers Loughgall 2-0 to book their first semi-final appearance since 1995.

Bangor, who won this trophy in 1993, needed extra-time to edge past Newington 2-1 in round five before easing to a 3-0 win against Annagh United in round six.

Lee Feeney's side then produced a stunning performance to knock out Glentoran in the quarter-finals.

Dungannon Swifts are the only side left in the competition who have never won it. They thrashed Rathfriland Rangers 5-0 in the fifth round before a 2-1 extra-time win over Coleraine booked a quarter-final appearance against Carrick Rangers.

Rodney McAree's side then came from behind to win that one 3-1 to seal their place in the final four.

What's their league form been like?

It would be fair to say that Cliftonville have been a cup team this year given their inconsistent league form.

The Reds won the League Cup earlier this month but they have fallen way short in the league and find themselves in the bottom six. If they can retain the Irish Cup, they'll secure all important European football for next season.

Ards have had a good Championship campaign, finishing the 'regular' season in the top half and have momentum after winning their last four league games.

It has been a dream season so far for Bangor as alongside their unlikely cup run, they are leading the way for promotion to the Premiership.

The Seasiders are top of the Championship table, eight points ahead of nearest rivals H&W Welders with five games to go.

And it's been equally impressive for Dungannon Swifts, who have combined a cup run with an impressive league campaign.

McAree's side have broken into the top six ahead of the split, sitting in fourth position and currently sit four points off Larne in the race for second and automatic qualification for European football.