LAST Monday night at Seaview was another glowing reminder of why the Steel & Sons Cup is one of the greatest soccer competitions ever conceived.
While everything around us seems to change, the 124-year-old Steel Cup retains its magic.
A big part of its allure is the fact the final is played on Christmas morning at Seaview, with smoke and stale whiskey filling the cool morning air.
Belfast Celtic and Newington contested the second semi-final of this year’s competition at the Shore Road venue on Monday evening in front of a 2,000-strong crowd.
Celtic ended up losing after a penalty shoot-out.
Given the magnificent football they played and the chances they created, it’s hard to fathom how they ended up losing the game.
In the first half, they created enough chances to win the game comfortably, but only had one goal to show for their efforts – a brilliantly constructed one that had Matthew Fitzpatrick and Gary Warwick's copyright all over it.
Formerly known as Sport & Leisure, some people recoiled at the idea they should adopt the famous Belfast Celtic name.
Regardless of your viewpoint on the club’s name change, there is no doubting Stephen McAlorum and Paddy Kelly’s team play the Celtic way.
Having watched them twice over the last number of weeks, they are one of the most technically gifted teams to grace the local game in a long time.
They play with the kind of imagination I haven’t seen since the heady days of Tommy Breslin's Cliftonville team that won back-to-back league titles in 2013 and 2014.
Technically, Newington are much better than what they showed in Monday night’s semi-final but they’ve turned doggedness into an art form over the last few seasons - a quality that’s just as admirable as Celtic’s purist approach.
The north Belfast men played well below par but they managed to turn the game into a battle of wills.
If you allow them, they’re the kind of team that will keep chipping away at your resolve.
They test you physically and mentally. And just when you think they’re going to run out of steam, they keep running.
They keep running and running and tackling and harrying and squeezing.
They have an insatiable appetite for chasing lost causes, to the point where they actually thrive off them.
In the 89th minute, they finally broke Belfast Celtic’s resistance through a close-range effort from central defender Ethan Casey.
Still only a teenager, Casey plays the defensive role with all the mastery and calmness of a seasoned campaigner.
Despite being reduced to 10 men in extra-time, Newington’s fitness levels shone through – and goalkeeper Marc Maybin turned out to be the penalty shoot-out hero for Conor Crossan’s team.
But just before the final whistle blew in extra-time Richard Gowdy, Newington’s captain, made a last-gasp block to deny Celtic a late winner.
Gowdy, who also plays Gaelic football for west Belfast club O’Donovan Rossa, threw his body in front of the shot and cleared the danger.
He'd no right to get there.
On Christmas morning two years ago, Newington won the Steel Cup for the first in the club's history.
It was the day of all days.
Padraig Scollay's 82nd minute volley clinched the deal against Linfield Swifts - who, incidentally, they face again in next month's decider - but the greatest chapter in the club's history might never have been written if Richard Gowdy hadn't been on the field.
In stoppage-time, the-then Newington goalkeeper Dean Smith slipped and it seemed certain Timmy Browne would force the game into extra-time.
But Gowdy was on hand to make another incredible block to deny the Linfield Swifts substitute and ensure the silverware was going back to north Belfast.
It was no surprise Gowdy made that game-defining block in the final two years ago and again on Monday night.
Players like Gowdy are worth their weight in gold to a team.
Now, the versatile 24-year-old will rarely feature on a highlights reel.
You won’t see him hitting many defence-splitting passes, or finding the top corner of the net with a free-kick, or doing step-overs, or trying to dribble around an opponent but players of his ilk are absolutely essential to every good team.
The greatest strength of any player is knowing their limitations and work accordingly.
If Gowdy plays in midfield, he’ll win the ball and give the simple pass. And he will repeat the process ad nauseam.
If he plays in central defence, he will be touch tight to his marker.
Left back, right back, it’s the same deal.
On Monday night he was the game's outstanding player - and yet his contribution probably went largely unnoticed to the casual observer.
When Newington were being passed off the park in the first half, Gowdy was the one who kept cajoling, roaring and demanding more from his team-mates.
He forced his way into the game when he wasn't welcome.
They say a person's true character reveals itself on a football field.
The Newington captain led by example and by sheer force of will he began turning the screw on Celtic.
Last Monday night’s dramatic narrative at Seaview was far away from the media’s gaze, to the point it barely caused a ripple in the sports bulletins and the following day’s newspapers, but Gowdy’s display was a compelling tutorial in resilience and never giving up.
You can't coach desire, and yet there were still lessons to be learned in what can actually swing a game in your favour.
Gowdy and his Newington team-mates never gave up against an opponent that was technically better than them - and that’s why they find themselves in their second Steel & Sons Cup final in three years.
Most people associated with team sport know a player like Richard Gowdy. They know their value.
At 24, the Newington captain has plenty of road ahead of him, but when he does eventually finish playing he will be one of those rare breeds who leaves with no regrets.
Because, with that kind of unbreakable will you never truly lose on a football field.
