Soccer

Queen's University are Dub-stepping all the way to Irish Cup sixth round

The Queen's squad take a bow in front of their fans at the Dub on Saturday Picture by Laura Davison/Pacemaker
The Queen's squad take a bow in front of their fans at the Dub on Saturday Picture by Laura Davison/Pacemaker The Queen's squad take a bow in front of their fans at the Dub on Saturday Picture by Laura Davison/Pacemaker

Irish Cup fifth round: Queen’s University 2 Linfield 1

QUEEN’S University manager Peter Thompson was nursing the best of hangovers yesterday after his side and he had celebrated the biggest result in their history in true student fashion.

QUB hosted Linfield on Saturday afternoon and duly knocked the reigning Irish League champions out of the competition at the Dub. IFA Championship side Queen’s were rank outsiders going into the tie against the 43-time winners, but they showed little fear as Marc McKenna put them in front in the first-half. Linfield substitute Shayne Lavery levelled after the break, but Jonah Mitchell won it for the underdogs from the penalty spot.

In the aftermath of their famous victory, the Queen’s players and management began their celebrations at the Dub, listening to the sixth round draw which pitted them against another giant of the local game in Glentoran, before continuing the party elsewhere.

“I’m nursing probably the sweetest hangover in history here today,” said Thompson yesterday.

“We stayed at the Dub and listened to the draw, there was a free bar put on and then all the players went down to the Eg [Eglantine], in typical student style, for the £2.47 pints.

“We deserved it, that was what it made it all the more special. We didn’t nick an early goal and then park the double-decker buses, we went at them. That was the instructions because myself and my assistant James Lavery had watched them [Linfield] against Institute.

“Institute just sat back and didn’t lay a glove on them. Coming out of that match, our view was ‘no way will we be hosting Linfield in the Irish Cup sixth round and not be having a go at them’. We’re certainly weren’t gung-ho but we went in with an idea to attack them and it worked out well.”

The fact that Queen’s were hosting Linfield in the first place has become a topic of debate as there was speculation in the run-up to Saturday’s game that they would agree to switch the tie to Windsor Park, but Thompson insists this was never on the cards.

“I was a bit bamboozled by the whole furore,” he admitted yesterday.

“David [Healy] didn’t have any problems with it [playing at the Dub]. I spoke to David about three weeks ago and he was, ‘you’re just right, why would you [switch the tie]?’

“A lot of people were asking why would we not want to do that [play at Windsor]. I got the sense that, I don’t know whether it was Linfield who thought this, but people just expected us to go to Windsor to play it, and that was never happening. Nothing like that was ever discussed at our club because we’ve worked tirelessly for seven years to get senior status and, once you have senior status, you have the right to host the game and we earned that right.

“The only reason I can think for doing that is for extra money and that’s not what sport is about, in my opinion. We’re not blessed with a lot of money, far from it, but by God we’re not going to sell ourselves out and all the hard work we’ve done just for an extra couple of quid.

“We’ve played at Windsor in successive Intermediate Cup finals. My players have played at Windsor two seasons in-a-row on a big cup final night, so going there and playing Linfield on their pitch in a stadium that’s 95 per cent empty and the inevitability of getting beat and probably being beaten quite convincingly, definitely not.”

With Glentoran next up at the Dub in February’s sixth round and his side comfortably mid-table in the Championship, Thompson has Queen’s right where he wants them to be and he intends to enjoy the ride ahead.

“Realistically, we’re not going to win the Irish Cup, so to beat Linfield and then get Glentoran in the next round, at the Dub again, it’s like Christmas has come twice in the same day,” he said.

“The ‘Big Two’ are called that for a reason – it’s because of their resources and their fan base and the media interest in them. We’ll just be delighted to welcome Glentoran to us.”

Irish Cup sixth round draw: Carrick Rangers v Crusaders, Ballyclare Comrades v Larne, Queen’s University v Glentoran, Dungannon Swifts v Newry City, Warrenpoint Town v Ballymena United, Cliftonville v Rathfriland Rovers, Coleraine v Banbridge Town, Knockbreda v Ballinamallard United

(Ties to be played Saturday, February 1)