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Brendan Crossan: Newington's long and winding road just got better

Newington celebrate their Premier Intermediate League triumph last Saturday
Newington celebrate their Premier Intermediate League triumph last Saturday Newington celebrate their Premier Intermediate League triumph last Saturday

LAST Saturday afternoon, Newington Football Club were presented with the Premier Intermediate League trophy at Solitude.

What felt like a million bottles of champagne popped and fizzed into the air as soon as NIFL officials handed over the coveted piece of silverware.

Players and management were suitably drenched.

The north Belfast side finished ahead of Armagh City, Bangor and Limavady United in a compelling championship race.

Newington broke for home with a stunning 5-1 victory over Armagh City two weeks ago before rounding off a triumphant campaign with a win over Banbridge Town.

Championship football now beckons for the club – one rung away from the Irish Premiership.

The ‘Ton, as they are affectionately known, also captured the Steel & Sons Cup earlier in the season – a magnificent league and cup double, a feat that will probably never be matched or eclipsed at the club again.

It’s been a remarkable journey for everyone associated with the club, past and present, since its formation in 1979, originally known as Jubilee Olympic.

A large bucket with a sea of coins met supporters and friends of the club as they arrived at Solitude last Saturday.

Also inside the bucket were copies of a printed letter urging people to get involved with the club ahead of their historic first season in the Championship come August, whether through volunteering or helping financially with its running costs.

“We have come a long way since our inception in 1979,” the letter read, “and acceptance into the Dunmurry League in the early 80s, then progressing through the Amateur League in the 90s, to where we are today, winning many trophies along the way.

“We are now, as we have always been, a club focused on excellence and committed to being a cornerstone of our community…”

It added: “The success of our club is not only determined by the results on the pitch, but by the efforts of our volunteers off it – for it is they who have made the biggest contribution to sustaining Newington FC over the years.

“We have no major financial contributors, the club is managed on a tight budget, supported by fundraising of our committee and contributions from local businesses…”

Colum Burns is one of the last remaining founding members at the club. Through good times and bad, Burnsy’s shoulder has never left the wheel.

The only time I hear from him these days is to buy a Last Man Standing or a ticket for a Night at the Races.

I was delighted for him at last Saturday’s post-match celebrations.

I also thought of the late Rab Martin – one of the greatest members Newington was fortunate to have, and what this historic season would have meant to him.

In the mind’s eye, Rab is always smiling. He was the quiet man who did so much for the club.

What struck me about Rab from the day and hour I met him was his impeccable manners.

He was just an awesome individual whose spirit not only lingers at Newington but whose human decency and humility remain a guiding light for those who lead the club today.

Those who knew him will never forget him.

I was privileged to play for the club for a few seasons before becoming assistant manager in the mid-2000s to former boss Eamonn McCarthy.

Back then, the club played their home games at Muckamore Park Hospital.

The pitch was roughly 17 miles away from north Belfast but it was the only green space available to them that could meet the criteria to play intermediate football.

Muckamore was a glorified field adjacent to the hospital itself.

In sunny August, the pitch surface looked resplendent. But it never lasted. A good, hard rain and it soon morphed into a muck heap.

Playing uphill in the winter months was a thoroughly miserable experience. Visiting teams hated playing there. For us, that was part of its charm.

With one good heave, two people could probably have levelled the rickety portacabins that masqueraded as changing rooms. For Newington to progress up the ranks, the club needed to build a fence around the playing area.

One summer afternoon several car loads carrying players, management and club members got to work. I remember ‘Hamo’ removing the wire fence sections and rubber bricks from the back of his van with the giddy enthusiasm of a two-year-old.

This was the club's passport to brighter days.

How the hastily erected fence ever passed an inspection is hard to know. But it did. And Newington kept moving forward, pursuing excellence on the field as they went.

I remember another time when a herd of cows had managed to navigate a way around our fence - it wasn't that difficult - and grazed on the pitch, leaving holes everywhere.

We had a Steel & Sons Cup quarter-final against Bangor scheduled for the following Saturday. I remember the early morning silence at the pitch as I tried to fill a million divots with a tonne of sand. There was no end to the assistant manager's job description at Newington.

The club kept driving forward probably never sure of its destination - but the joy has always been in the journey.

Later, they lost the Muckamore pitch, played their ‘home’ games in Larne before ground-sharing with north Belfast neighbours Crusaders FC at Seaview.

With a degree of trepidation, the club won a play-off to enter the rungs of Irish League football a few seasons ago.

Onwards they went.

My brother Conor has been heavily involved in managing the team over the last number of years.

They have two Steel & Sons Cups to their name – 2017 and 2021 – and now the Premier Intermediate League title.

Despite its cash-strapped nature, Newington Football Club keeps defying the odds.

They could've raised the white flag many times over the years but the ceaseless volunteerism of a small band of local people kept it going.

Newington currently ground-share with their friends at Cliftonville FC but hope that one day they can find a green space of their own.

They have reached out to local politicians to help them in their search. North Belfast is crying out for a lofty vision for its sports clubs, a sports hub with state-of-the-art facilities.

The most instructive thing that came out of the two-year long pandemic was the importance of local sports clubs in our communities.

They elevate people’s lives. In desperately tough times, they give young and old a purpose, a deep sense of belonging and worth.

The volunteering spirit and the heroic feats of the players themselves inspire us every day. They raise the esteem of their communities.

Tonight, the members of Newington FC will raise a glass to celebrate their league and cup double.

They’ll keep moving forward, as they always do, undaunted.