Owen Forsythe reckons there’s a glimmer of hope for Derriaghy in the title race – but admits it’s likelier he’ll end the season with a nagging feeling of what might have been.
The Seymour Hill men have already bagged the much-coveted Border Cup, of course – a first one for the club – so whatever way things pan out over the remainder of the campaign, 2021/22 will be deemed a success.
Even so, having watched his captain, leading goalscorer and main man Jack Smith snapped up by Portadown at Christmas, and his other main source of goals Jordan Baker plagued by injuries, he knows those costly five league draws could possibly have yielded more points had he had either or matchwinner available more often.
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Indeed, turning one or two of those into wins would put Derriaghy right in the thick of the title race, rather than on the periphery.
With two games in hand on some of the four clubs ahead of them, Forsythe’s side can still make a late charge.
But while it’s by no means impossible, he knows a coronation come May is more in hope than expectation.
“Losing our two main goalscorers, we have struggled to get over the line in games,” explained the Derriaghy boss. “We’ve just drawn too many games.
“But generally, it’s been brilliant, and I don’t think we’re that far away, it’s just being that wee bit ruthless is the only thing that’s been going against us.
“For us, one or the other, if Jack had have stayed or Jordan had stayed fit all season, I think it would have made a massive difference.
“We can’t really replace players like that, and especially in the Amateur League, with the rules the way they are.”
Baker was back in action on Saturday to boost Derriaghy for the run-in, but it was Ethan Taggart and Scotty Dornan who did the damage in a “feisty” win over Shankill United at the Hammer ahead of a re-run this weekend in the second part of their double-header.
It kicks off the start of a seven-game run-in for Derriaghy. Win them all, and they might just confound the odds.
For Forsythe, however, it’s Rathfriland, a team they have to play twice across their remaining two months of league action, who hold the upper hand.
“We still have an outside chance, but we now have to rely on everyone around us, but if we win the rest of our games, we’ve got every chance,” he said.
“But doing that will be hard, we’ve Rathfriland twice and I think they are favourites for the league, although their fixture pile-up is obviously going to cause them problems.
“I see them as favourites, out of all the teams we’ve played against, they’re probably the best team I’ve seen.
“We’ve only played them once in a cup final but we watched them a few times before that and they’re the ones that have impressed us the most.
“But it’s there for the taking, I think Immaculata, Ards Rangers, ourselves, and obviously Star, East, Rathfriland... whoever puts a run together will be hard to stop.
“We’ve got to rely on a lot of luck which we didn’t want to have to do, but yeah, if we win most of them, then we’ll be very close.
“But it’s a big ask, especially with the way it is this season, so competitive and everyone bunched together.”
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