Shiel(d)s Shagging!

By a huge quirk of fate, the man who promised United fans that he was here for the long term when he got the managers job and would be setting his stall out to win trophies, now stands between the Sky Blues and their first final since their Irish cup win way back in 1989. Yes ‘King’ Kenny Shiels, who held the reins at the Showgrounds for five long barren years, is now the manager of Larne, who once again stand between United and a trophy final. Who can forget the bitter disappointment of last seasons Irish cup semi-final defeat, in a match dominated by the Sky Blues, when Larne won thanks to a dubious penalty given by Larne referee Adrian McCourt and converted by Mark Dickson? United fans will shout their heads off tomorrow night, of that we can be sure, so hopefully the United team will play their hearts out. Linfield the ‘unbeatable’, await the winners of this County Antrim derby and hopefully United can qualify to lower the mighty Blues in the Shield final. United manager Tommy Wright has intimated that Willie McFrederick, despite a couple of ‘gaffes’ on Saturday, will retain the keepers jersey. Rory Hamill made a successful comeback with the reserves last Saturday and looks set to claim at least a place on the bench, at the expense of Gerald Rowe who won’t travel up for this game. The rest of the team are expected to be on the usual lines, but the manager is undecided about giving new signing Paul Brown at least a place on the bench, it would be a bold move in our opinion, but could also be a real coup. No matter what Big Tam does tomorrow night, let’s hope he gets it right, the alternative, is unthinkable!