Cliftonville vs Linfield 04/05/24

Cliftonville midfielder Rory Hale doesn’t need any extra motivation ahead of the Irish Cup final – but there is a sense of frustration from the decider five years ago that is helping to drive him on.

“The fans were brilliant from start to finish in the semi-final,” he continued. “In fact, even for the warm-up there was already about 3,000 of them in the stadium. It will be more of the same in the final no doubt. They will be out in their numbers and hopefully loud and proud.” With European football and a third-place finish in the Irish Premiership already secured, Cliftonville’s form has dropped in the weeks since that last four victory. Hale is not letting that bother him, though, and nor is he letting Cliftonville’s 45-year wait for Irish Cup success weigh him down. He pointed out: “It has been quite some time since we won the semi-final and it has been a bit strange because we were out of the title race but were guaranteed Europe after the first game of the split. “However, we finally got a win in the league against the Glens, which was comfortable enough, and the mood among the players is good. We are confident. It is all hands to the pump for the final. “The fact Cliftonville have not won the Irish Cup for so long definitely will not weigh on me. With this group of players it is very much ‘on to the next game’, no matter what that game is, where it is or who it is against. “We instilled that attitude at the start of the season and have continued it throughout so we are not going to stop now. I am hoping that it is in the boys’ heads that this is just another game, it is just the next game that is in front of us.” A game that he will, of course, play a much bigger role in than he did in that 2019 final.

The same applies to brother Ronan, in fact, who will likely be lining up alongside him in the Reds team to face Linfield in today’s Irish Cup decider. Back in 2019 the Hale brothers were playing for north Belfast rivals Crusaders and were in the Crues squad that beat Ballinamallard United 3-0 to win the trophy, but it was a bittersweet day for the pair as both were unused substitutes in the final. “We are determined to make up for lost time. Both of us will be hugely motivated and are really looking forward to the final,” said Hale, who has captained Cliftonville for most of this season. “I played in every single round [in 2019] but was then left out of the starting line-up for the final. I have the medal but it just doesn’t feel like you have won it when you don’t get on. “We beat Glentoran, Linfield, Ballymena United and Coleraine on the way to the final. You think as a player that you are going to get to these cup finals every year and you have the mentality of ‘we’ll go again next year’ but it is five years later now and my next final is only coming now. “You have to enjoy the moments, of course, but you want to be playing in these big games. That is what you are in football for, putting the boots on and playing in the big games in front of a sold out Windsor Park.” Hale cannot wait to run out at the National Stadium and hear the roar of the Cliftonville supporters who, like their Linfield counterparts, bought up all of their club’s allocation within hours of tickets going on sale. The Reds faithful created a tremendous atmosphere while backing their team in the semi final against Larne – and Hale wants a repeat in the decider.

Words Mark Sterling

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