WITH many Irish League fans remembering the anniversary of Cliftonville’s famous league title of ’98 win last weekend, former Cliftonville player Barry Rooney revealed on Twitter a little-known fact that he was on the bench in that nerve-shredding clash between Coleraine and Linfield at Ballycastle Road that decided the destination of the Gibson Cup.
Earlier that afternoon, on April 18 1998, Marty Quinn's Cliftonville side drew 1-1 with Glentoran at Solitude but they needed Coleraine to avoid defeat against title-chasers Linfield - a game that inexplicably kicked off an hour later.
But thanks to the heroics of former Blues keeper Wes Lamont, the game ended scoreless - and the Reds were crowned champions. A couple of years later, winger Barry Rooney signed for Cliftonville.
Speaking to Brendan Crossan, he recalls the day Coleraine did the Reds a massive favour and where his playing career took him...
Brendan Crossan: Tell me a bit about your early career.
Barry Rooney: I had played in good school and youth sides but it wasn’t until university (Jordanstown) that things started to take off. We had a terrific football team, scattered with Irish League players, Jim McCloskey, Chris Morgan, Stevie Collier, Alistair McComb, Paul Darby, Darren Parker, Ronan Scannel, Gareth Gorman (Tony’s brother), Davy Patton and Conor Devine. I later signed for Ballyclare Comrades, aged 20.
Alan Campbell and Tommy Gowdy were in charge at Ballyclare and we won the Ulster Cup with a great side. Crawford McRea played up front, Davy Rainey and I were wingers, Mark Picking played behind me in midfield and Keith Dallas in the middle along with the great Derry footballer “the Rooster” (Fergal McCusker).
Alan Campbell mentioned in the papers that he believed his great young side would break up having won the Ulster Cup and he was right. I was the first one to move. In hindsight, I jumped too quickly going to Coleraine, where Kenny Shiels was in charge. I would have been better waiting, playing, learning, enjoying my football.
BC: How did you fit in at Coleraine and what was that side like?
BR: I was in great shape and playing well when I went to Coleraine, but I wasn’t the type of player Kenny was looking for. We had a very good Coleraine side then and I was delighted to get to know Pat McAllister and Oliver McAuley, both Belfast men and excellent players. Other good players in that team were David McCallum, Michael Surgeon, Paul Gaston, Jonny McGivor, Stuart Clenaghan. We had an English striker, Simon Yeo, and a couple of Scottish players.
I made my debut for Coleraine against Cliftonville at Solitude. I came off the bench and tried to win a ball in the air against Marty Tabb.
I think I caught him with my arm and he stood up and said: ‘Did they send you on to do a job on me son?’ I think I quivered a brief response.
I remember Cliftonville a great battling team then. They wouldn’t give you an inch anywhere on the pitch, and they could play.
BC: You were on the Coleraine bench that day when your side’s scoreless draw with Linfield handed the title to Cliftonville…
BR: Linfield had a terrific side. Glenn Ferguson was up front with Davy Larmour; in midfield they had Jamie Marks and Tony Gorman; at the back my mate Steven Collier played right-back and Pat McShane left back along with ‘Winkie’ Murphy and Noel Ballie.
BC: What’s your abiding memory of that day?
BR: I remember it was a beautiful warm day, but there was a real tension in the air from the Linfield fans. I think the Coleraine guys were reasonably relaxed. We were clear of the relegation zone, the pressure was on them. There were certainly periods when they put us under pressure but Wes Lamont was excellent and it was a solid performance from the whole team.
BC: Was that the best you saw Wes Lamont play?
BR: Wes was a top keeper, absolutely brilliant, and a winner too. There was a bit of banter before the match that Wes might have divided loyalties, but no-one would have said that to his face because he would take your head off! We were set up very defensively and Kenny had us well organised.
When you know you’re going to be put under pressure you can either rise to it, or fold – there was no way a player like Wes was going to lie down - he was particularly inspired that day.
BC: Being from north Belfast, were you happy for Cliftonville?
BR: With time, yes, I was happy for the players and the club. But at the time, no. Back then it meant nothing to me that they won. Footballers are selfish and unless I was in the winning team I wasn’t interested. If anything, I was more determined to succeed in the Premier League when I saw the absolute joy that people experienced in the days and weeks after the win.
In the following years I played with almost all the guys from Cliftonville’s league-winning team. I think very highly of guys like Stevie Small, Marty Tabb, Marty McCann, Micky Donnelly, Harry McCourt, Keith Mulvenna, and Gerry Flynn and I’m delighted they got to win the league. They deserved it.
BC: How did your move to Cliftonville come about?
BR: I went back to Ballyclare, more than a little jaded after the Coleraine experience but before long, Laurence Stitt took Damian Davey (‘Bingo’) and me to Cliftonville. I arrived two seasons after they won the league. I was playing well for them and I thought we had a really good side.
Mal Donaghy came in and he was a great coach. We didn’t seem to be consistent enough and in my first year and were lucky to avoid relegation.
The next year we did much better. We got into the Intertoto Cup, and travelled to Moldova, which was a great experience.
Another highlight was playing Leicester City in a pre-season friendly. They were a top side then with Neil Lennon, Gerry Taggart, Tim Flowers, Matt Elliott, Steve Guppy, Muzzy Izzet, Robbie Savage and Stan Collymore. There was a great picture in the paper the next day of me up above Collymore winning a header. I’m very proud of that and I remember the incident well.
I was just two seasons at Cliftonville. Towards the end I was living in Dublin and struggling to get to training, was losing fitness and was in and out of the team. I was gutted to leave, but I knew I wasn’t able to give my best.
BC: Where did you go after the Reds?
BR: Lee Doherty took me to Bangor, which was an enjoyable year and signed for Institute and spent a couple of years there. I stopped playing at about 29. I went travelling for a year with my now wife and when I came back in 2009 I was working in Belfast City Council. I bumped into Stevie Small and he mentioned he was managing Carrick Rangers.
He asked me to come down and play for him. I hadn’t kicked a ball in four years and wasn’t interested in playing, but when a man like Stevie Small thinks you’re worth having in his team, you don’t turn him down. Stevie was a brilliant manager – knowledgeable, great understanding of the game and how players’ minds work. I worked hard to get fit and delivered some decent performances in a good Carrick team. But I wasn’t committed to it and when Stevie got a good player in on the right side of midfield I left.
