Getting Nearer!

Its just 8 days away from the biggest match that we have been involved since our dramatic win in the County Antrim Shield last season. But this match is even bigger in our estimation, it's a chance to get to an Irish cup final and the chance to get our name back on the blue riband trophy that is the Irish cup. But that's 8 days away and we got an important league game tomorrow against Dungannon Swifts. Our manager, Spike, has promised to rest one or two of his regulars and we're not going to say what we think they will be. There's definitely one change that's going to made and that is, Shan our keeper. He is going to have a rest tomorrow and reserve keeper Macauley Cairns, is going to get a rare start.

As Spike was at pains to point out this week we only have one keeper that's eligible for the Irish cup and that's Shan, so it makes sense to rest him tomorrow with the semi-final in mind. Tomorrow's match will be our last game at the Showgrounds for a month, until we pull the curtain down on another league season at home to Ards on 26 April. We at 'Sport, like the rest of the Sky Blue faithful will be hoping the Ards game will not be the last game of the season as such. We will be hoping that is an appetiser for the Irish cup final on Saturday 3 May. But we digress, what of tomorrows opponents who haven't won a game since we beat them in the Irish cup 3 weeks ago.

Swifts manager, Darren Murphy, will have his team well pumped up for this one and he will be expecting us to have our minds on next weeks game and will have his players primed to take advantage of any slips. It'll be hard for our players, but if you shirk tackles, you end up getting hurt, so we have to be up for the game, otherwise we will get trampled on. To this end we think we need to start Gavin and Sparky in midfield and their no nonsense approach could be the spark that ignites us. Mark Kelly has to tried in the striking role and Neal Lowry must be due some first team action. We mustn't switch off, if we play with the same concentration that we showed in the cup against the Swifts, we will prevail, so come on Sky Blues!