Steel & Sons Cup final
Willowbank v Derriaghy CC (Seaview, 10.45am, Christmas Day)
 
A FINAL is simply about winning and Willowbank head coach Declan McCrory has urged his team to play the game and not the occasion when they take on Derriaghy CC in the Steel & Sons Cup final on Christmas Day at Seaview.

The Beechmount club has been on a remarkable rise since the days it operated in the Belfast and District League, but climbed the ladder of the Northern Amateur Football League where it now sits in Division 1A, just one below the Premier Division where their Christmas opponents are placed.

Every incremental step has earned the club more and more respect but if they were to bring the famous ‘Steel Cup’ back to the west of the city for the first time since Donegal Celtic in 2003, it would top anything that has gone before.

Excitement has built along the Falls since the ‘Bank scored a 2-0 semi-final win over Ballymoney United last month and the red and black colours have begun to rival the Christmas decorations for pride of place.

For all those at Willowbank who have helped steer the club up through the rungs, it will be a special day, but they are there to finish the job and McCrory’s only hope is for his team to find a way to get over the line.

“Sometimes you have to stop and reflect on it because you can get so caught up with the day-to-day,” he said.

“You’re always thinking of the next game and you live your life going game to game, but it’s also good to stop and reflect on what the club has achieved and how far we have come on this journey we’ve been on, plus all the people who have contributed to it.

“They are all still around the club, so for us to get to this final, it’s a big day for the players, the coaches and everyone who has supported us. I just hope we can do ourselves justice and the occasion doesn’t get to us and we forget there is a game of football to be won.

“The semi-final we won quite comfortably, but we didn’t get out of second gear and really, we didn’t have to.

“Throughout a season, I tell the boys to focus on performances and not results as over the course of a season, good performances will get those results.

“But with a cup final, you are just looking for that result. If we go out, have a shocker and win 1-0 on penalties, nobody remembers how poorly you played.”

It is not just a nervy day for the Willowbank boss in terms of the football side of things, but he is also in a bit of a bind in terms of work on the day.

A radiographer at Musgrave Park Hospital, fate would decree that this is the first time it’s his turn to be on-call and is hopeful there are no emergencies that will pull him away.

That in itself is a strange situation, but so too is the fact they are not just playing a final on Christmas Day, but also the much earlier than usual kick-off time.

“My brother, Thomas ruptured his ACL in 2017 and still needs to do a prolonged warm-up, so even though it’s Christmas, he’ll be up earlier to go through his routine,” McCrory explained.

“For the rest, there is the nutrition side of it, so it’s a surreal situation to find yourself in. The final being on Christmas Day adds to the occasion, but it’s a bit strange when you tell people you have a game on that day.”

Willowbank’s Matthew Reid will be up against his brother, Joseph in what is another added piece of intrigue, but as the sides have met on several occasions in the recent past, there isn’t a great need to press for info.

Perhaps the focus on the Steel & Sons final has dominated Willowbank minds a little more than they would have liked in recent weeks with a few results going against them, but it all leads to this moment and the opportunity to do something very special.

“We know all of their players and they know all of ours as we have come up against them even though they are a league above us (Premier Division),” McCrory explained.

“We played them twice in cup competitions and also in pre-season, so we’d be familiar with their set-up.

“They are a good side with a different playing style than us. They’d be well organised whereas we go more direct.

“Our form has dipped a bit with a draw on Saturday (2-2 away to Hollywood) and beat before that.

“Maybe players have taken their eye off the ball a bit as they look towards the final, while other teams see a bigger target on your back so they want to get at you.
It’s not the only reason we haven’t won the last few games, but it’s a part of it.

“A final on Christmas Day, midway through a season, is also a bit of a strange one, but the whole club is buzzing for it. Hopefully, the whole community can get behind us.”