Joe Gormley, a Cliftonville striker, claimed he “does not lose sleep” over not appearing in the Irish Cup final last year.
Only Gormley was the Reds’ only substitute who didn’t play in Windsor Park’s 3-1 extra-time victory over Linfield.
Gormley says he looks back fondly on the day and is proud that Ronan Hale scored Cliftonville’s third goal despite not making it off the bench.
You do occasionally consider not featuring, he said, but I wouldn’t be up for it, he told BBC Sport NI.
It would “would mean the world would score.”
The 35-year-old will face Dungannon Swifts in Saturday’s fourth Irish Cup final against the Reds.
In contrast to last year, Gormley almost certainly will start the match with 20 league goals, the winner of the BetMcLean Cup final, and the opener against Ards in the Irish Cup semi-final defeat.
Gormley is hoping the Reds can beat a high-flying Swifts side and keep the Irish Cup, despite his desire to play in the final while his family is watching in the stands.
“I’ve lost two Irish Cup finals, and they’re still amazing, but last year we won,” he continued. “It’s amazing how you feel now that you’ve been through it for 45 years,” he continued.
“It would mean the world to me to score this year, but I always believe that Cliftonville’s main goal is to win.”
The man never lets you down, he says.
Rory Hale, the captain of Cliftonville, praised the forward’s mentality and said he was eager to see Gormley make an impression in the cup final.
The man never let you down, he said, “I can’t recall the last time he let us down during a training session.”
He says, “He wants to make an impact regardless of whether he plays for 90 minutes or just one minute.”
“It would be wonderful to win the cup final, but it would be even more satisfying to see that man have a significant influence.”
After a 45-year wait for an Irish Cup triumph, Hale was named man-of-the-match in the final of last year’s final thanks to an all-action display.
Due to their difficult league campaign and desire to qualify for Europe, he says there will likely be “a lot more pressure” on this year’s cup final than it did last year.
“We finished the year with a really strong league campaign, and we qualified for Europe before the split. This year’s situation is very different; we’ve dropped to the bottom six, which is disappointing, so this game means a lot to European football, he said.
After a difficult campaign both on and off the pitch, Hale wants to achieve a cup double, which he thinks would be great.
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Source: BBC
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