Clearer Water Irish Cup fifth round: Cliftonville 4 Banbridge Rangers 0
From Brendan Crossan at Solitude
MICHAEL Newberry was always Saint Jude in disguise – the patron saint of lost causes. And his manager Jim Magilton loved him for it.
In Newberry’s world, there was never a ball not worth chasing.
The Cliftonville boss admired the central defender because of his “passion, desire and enthusiasm” for the game.
With the Solitude floodlights about to be switched off and Cliftonville safely through to the next round of the Irish Cup, Magilton spoke movingly to reporters for over seven minutes about Newberry’s legacy.
In a way Magilton was still trying to come to terms with the loss of the Newcastle-Upon-Tyne native who died suddenly on his 27th birthday last Monday.
In dark times, leadership emerges and forms in different ways.
With Magilton in their corner, the Cliftonville players are in good hands as they all try to navigate their way through the weeks and months ahead without their team-mate.
“I’m the leader of the group and I embraced that the moment I came into this football club,” said Magilton, soon after watching his side record a comfortable 4-0 fifth round win over Banbridge Rangers, “but nothing ever prepares you for this - no coaching courses, no life skills, nothing.
“The call with Michael’s father will stay with me for the rest of my days.
“No man should ever have to say that and talk about his son in that way. That was an horrendous day and then to get the players here and speak to them and knowing how emotionally attached they were to him...”
Signed from Linfield in the summer, Newberry’s last game for Cliftonville turned out to be the St Stephen’s Day derby game with Crusaders at Seaview.
Magilton added: “Michael was a wonderful man who had so many unbelievable qualities but one quality that always stood out - because I’d known him since he was 15 as he went through all the underage teams [with Northern Ireland] – he never ever lost his enthusiasm, desire and passion to play.
“He loved to train, he loved games, he loved being among footballers and he loved the dressing room.”
In what was always destined to be a very sombre Saturday afternoon at Solitude, fans stopped at the turnstiles of the old north Belfast ground to pause and gaze at the collection of Cliftonville and Linfield scarves, flowers and handwritten notes left to remember and honour the life of Michael Newberry.
Before kick-off, both sets of players and officials formed a circle in the centre of the pitch as both captains – Rory Hale of Cliftonville and Peter Smyth of Banbridge Rangers – laid wreaths.
A minute’s applause rang out with a pocket of Cliftonville supporters under the old stand, chanting Newberry’s name.
“When the wreaths were laid, it was so poignant and that’s when it really hit home that he’s no longer with us.
“Brian Campbell did a fantastic job with his number and Michael’s shirt was hanging up in the changing room. You could feel his presence. It’s still so raw for us.
“We had to play the game, we had to win the game, we are defending champions, we want to go all the way again because of the unbelievable rollercoaster ride we had and the manner in which we won the cup last season. But we will honour Michael Newberry every single day.”
From the first whistle to the last, it felt like this fifth round David-and-Goliath clash was played on autopilot.
Young Ryan Corrigan side-footed home Cliftonville’s first goal within the opening quarter of an hour.
Banbridge manfully kept the Reds at bay until Axel Piesold’s deflected effort on 51 minutes crept in off the post.
Joe Gormley made it 3-0 with a composed finish around the hour mark and Kris Lowe completed the scoring with five minutes of normal time remaining.
“The job was obviously to get the lads switched on to the game and go through the strengths and weaknesses as we do with every team,” Magilton said.
“I just told the players how much Michael meant to me and how much he meant to them. It wouldn’t have mattered if it was Barcelona here today because Michael would have played the game exactly the same way. That’s the way he approached every game.
“Sometimes we get caught up in the grind and people take being a footballer for granted. Michael never ever did.
“It was a tough day, pretty subdued. But credit to Banbridge for the manner in which they came here. They did it with grace, humility and a lot of dignity.”
Banbridge Rangers manager Jeff Brady said afterwards: “It was an honour to be here to pay tribute to Michael Newberry. It was a very emotional occasion. It was bound to be so hard for the Cliftonville management and players to get through this week but hopefully the football community will pull together and see them through this difficult period.”
Cliftonville: L Ridd, S Kearney, S McGuinness, J Addis (K Hawthorne 62), O Casey, A Piesold, AJ Pettifer (K Lowe 62), R Hale, R Corrigan (H Wilson 55), T Steven (J Berry 55), J Gormley (R Curran 62)
Banbridge Rangers: M Pauley, D Brown, N Baird (J Gilmore 75), P Smyth, D Gilchrist (C Elliott 75), M McCrum (S Mallen 58), C Gill, C Purdy, L McMaster (M Gilchrist 67), E Copes (J McCracken 67), M McCullough
Referee: M McKenna
