IMMACULATA FC may share close ties with Cliftonville, but manager Kevin Lawlor is pragmatic enough to admit Tuesday’s Irish Cup fifth round draw could have been more favourable to the amateur side.
The two teams are scheduled to meet at Solitude on January 9 and, while Immaculata have enjoyed a remarkable progression through the amateur ranks in recent years, Cliftonville will be strong favourites to progress to the last 16 of the knock-out competition.
Lawlor admits “all our boys are Cliftonville supporters”, but this is no novelty tie either - a win against Dundela last Saturday marked the third time Immaculata have reached the fifth round since their promotion to intermediate football half-a-decade ago.
On the possibility of reaching the sixth round for the first time, Lawlor said: “You always want a home draw and there are lower-league teams that we could’ve got, but you have to test yourself against the best.
“They’re one of the top sides in the country, but we’re just not going there to make up the numbers, they’ll know we’re in a game.”
The west Belfast side had added impetus to take Dundela’s scalp last Saturday. The Championship 2 outfit defeated Immaculata in the 2013 Steel & Sons Cup final, and Lawlor has taken confidence from the manner of last weekend's victory, insisting they will stick to their guns against Cliftonville.
“We owed them [Dundela] one”, he said.
“The boys played very well at the weekend, but they could’ve beaten them by more. 2-0 flattered Dundela a bit, but a win’s a win, so it was a good result for us against a Championship side and we played well.”
Asked whether they will adopt a more defensive approach against Gerard Lyttle’s Cliftonville, Lawlor said: “That’s not our style - we play our game and let everyone else worry about us. Whether we get beaten three or four-nil, we don’t change for anybody.”
Eight-time champions Cliftonville haven’t triumphed in the Irish Cup since 1979, a curious anomaly perhaps considering they are gunning for an unparalleled four in-a-row in the League Cup.
The Reds have a number of links with Immaculata, whose front-man John Boyce is the brother of ex-Cliftonville star Liam, who racked up 137 appearances in two stints for the Reds before transferring to Ross County last year.
Lawlor added: “Ciarán Murray played for us and went to Larne before joining Cliftonville. Liam [Boyce] was at the Mac all his life and he played for Cliftonville - I’ve no ties myself, but I used to play against [former Cliftonville manager] Tommy Breslin years ago.
“There are a lot of links with lads going back and forward and all our boys are Cliftonville supporters.”
Regardless of what happens against Cliftonville, the former junior side have travelled a long road in a short space of time. Finishing a respectable fourth in last season’s Northern Amateur Football League Premier Division, Lawlor explains their rapid progression: “We came through the junior ranks and won everything and we’ve won the Clarence Cup three times and the Junior Shield twice.
“It was all in a matter of five or six years. We went into intermediate football and did our thing and we’ve been successful there too.
He added: “Everybody’s saying we’re a lower-ranked team, but that doesn’t mean to say we’re not as good as everybody else.”
IRISH CUP FIFTH ROUND DRAW
Glentoran v Ards, H&W v Glenavon, Linfield v Ballymena United, Armagh City v Portstewart/Moyola Park, Immaculata v Cliftonville (at Solitude), Dergview/Sport & Leisure Swifts v Institute/Newtowne, Dungannon v Warrenpoint, Lisburn Distillery or Knockbreda/Annagh United, Portadown v Wakehurst, Crumlin Star v Oxford United Stars, Tobermore United v PSNI, Loughgall v Larne/Limavady, Coleraine v Ballinamallard United, Lurgan Celtic v Bangor/Coagh, Banbridge Town v Carrick Rangers, Abbey Villa/Rathfriland Rangers v Crusaders (at Seaview)
Ties scheduled to be played on Saturday, January 9
