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McGrady targets Final say

Manager John McGrady says Cliftonville Ladies “can achieve any success they want to” if the squad keeps heading in the right direction.

Top of the Danske Bank Women’s Premiership at the halfway split, the Reds will contest for the first trophy of the season when they face Sion Swifts Ladies in the Jordan’s Gift Women’s Premiership League Cup Final this evening.

All roads lead to Blanchflower Stadium, where McGrady is hopeful that an abundance of effort on and off the pitch will culminate in some much sought-after silverware.

“The upward trajectory over the last season-and-a-half is a testament to all the hard work put in from the entire Club to drive women’s football,” he says.

“From the board, media, backroom staff and the Head of Women’s Football and not forgetting the players, the efforts have been enormous. So for every one of those to be rewarded with silverware would be amazing.

“This competition has allowed us to focus on a lot of younger players and their development within competitive games. The experience in this tournament will give them the confidence and game understanding needed to push themselves further and push players in front of them. This has allowed the coaching team to show how much of a squad game football has really become and the importance of everyone’s role within it.”

Those young players certainly had to stand up and be counted when Cliftonville’s semi-final clash with Lisburn Ladies went to a nerve-jangling penalty shootout and McGrady believes that coming through such a testing ordeal will reap huge benefits.

“The last two games in this competition have provided our young players with different challenges,” he explains.

“Being underdogs against Glentoran, then having an expectancy to win against a really well-organised Lisburn side will have helped build mental capacity in players involved in those games. Even the penalties in the semi-final will have helped those young players to perform under pressure, developing their mental capacity going forward.”

Though the Reds put four unanswered goals past Sion on the opening night of the Premiership season, McGrady is well aware of the Strabane outfit’s fine form since then and insists their performance that evening delivered glimpses of their potential.

“Even during that first game down at Sion, we could see that they were going to be very strong this season,” he adds.

“They have a really good mix of good young players and experienced players helping them. They are also really well coached and will continue to grow as the season goes on. They will also have the League break after this game with their full squad to work on the team together.

“Our players know full well the task ahead of them and how tough a game it will be. But we also have every confidence in the squad and what they are capable of. We know that if they believe in themselves and stick together, they can achieve any success they want to.”


Jordan’s Gift Women’s Premiership League Cup Final
Cliftonville Ladies v Sion Swifts Ladies
Wednesday, June 29 (Blanchflower Stadium, 7.45pm)

Fans aged 16+: £5
Under-16s: Free