Clearer Water Irish Cup fifth round: Cliftonville v Banbridge Rangers (Saturday, Solitude, 3pm)
THE anticipated “eerie atmosphere” around Solitude isn’t how Jeff Brady imagined it – but the Banbridge Rangers manager says the most important part of their Irish Cup clash with Cliftonville will be honouring the life of Michael Newberry.
The Cliftonville defender died suddenly last Monday – on his 27th birthday – with his passing casting a long shadow across the north Belfast club.
It’s the first time in the 20-year history of Banbridge Rangers they’ve reached the fifth round of the Irish Cup – and Brady is hoping his young guns will do themselves and the Mid-Ulster Intermediate League proud.
Both clubs will take part in a special pre-match tribute to remember Newberry who had joined the Reds from Linfield in the summer and played in the St Stephen’s Day derby against Crusaders at Seaview.
“It’s one of those things you don’t want to hear – a young fella of 27 years of age,” said Brady.
“Whenever that happens you think of your own squad and you wonder if you found yourself in that situation how you would cope.
“Our captain will lay a wreath to remember Michael Newberry before the game. Obviously, the atmosphere around Solitude is going to be a bit eerie. I can’t imagine how the Cliftonville players will be feeling and the emotion around the game at the start.
“I just hope that everyone comes together because I think that’s what we’re good at in Northern Ireland when something like this happens - we try and help each other.
“I’m sure the Cliftonville players, their staff and the players at Linfield will get the support that they need because it’s not going to be easy.
“Some things are more important than football. The most important thing on Saturday is that we honour Michael’s life before the match.”
The Irish Cup minnows have navigated the preliminary rounds to reach the greatest day in the club’s history.
Brady, a former Rangers player who took the managerial reins two seasons ago, wants his players to embrace the occasion.
“I’m not naïve to say we’re going there to get a result because there’s a big difference between the teams,” he said.
“The worst thing that can happen on days like this is that it passes you by, the occasion becomes too much and the next thing you know the game is 60 minutes old and you’re wondering what happened.”
It’s a huge week for Brady’s bunch as they have the Mid-Ulster Premier Cup final against Crewe United to look forward to six days after rubbing shoulders with Cliftonville.
“We try and dominate the ball in games; all our training is based around the ball,” said Brady. “Now, we’re not going to dominate the ball against Cliftonville but when we do get it, we keep it and stick to the same principles that got us here and just be a wee bit more compact.
“If we give the ball away that’s when you’re out of shape and when Cliftonville’s quality can hurt us.
“Hopefully the boys go there and do themselves justice and show people why we got to the fifth round of the Irish Cup.”
Sixteen-year-old Jay Gilmore is just one of several teenage sensations among the Banbridge outfit. Gilmore came off the bench to score against Queen’s in their fourth-round clash – a game they went on to win on penalties to write themselves into the club’s history books.
“At Jay’s age, he just doesn’t care. I brought him on in our last Irish Cup game against Queen’s and our assistant manager felt the game might be too big for him to come on in – but I said that’s the joy of it because we could have brought someone else on who understood the importance of the game. Jay doesn’t understand that pressure and ended up scoring for us.
“Our squad is built of teenagers and guys in their early 20s and three or four boys with a bit of experience. But for many of them it’ll be the biggest game they’ll ever play in.”