James Haughey reckons Immaculata will be filing this season under ‘the one that got away’ if and when Rathfriland eventually pip them to the Premier Division.
A frustrating 0-0 draw with Derriaghy at the weekend kept the Mac top of the table by a point from Crumlin Star ahead of the final game of their campaign Saturday week away to Ards Rangers.
But the draws this season - six in all so far - have cost the West Belfast men dear, and none more so than the couple of points they dropped at Islandmagee a few weeks back.
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For Haughey, their goose was cooked then, rendering last Thursday’s excellent 3-0 win over Rathfriland largely meaningless.
Of course things could yet turn out differently. A total collapse by the Whites could still let in the Mac, Crumlin Star or Derriaghy, but that’s a long-shot.
With six league games to go for the double-chasing Whites, three wins might be enough, four seals it, leaving Brian ‘Bru’ McCaul’s side to rue what might have been.
“Five weeks ago, we were saying that if we win all our games, we’re pretty confident Rathfriland will drop points,” explained right back turned forward Haughey.
“Whether that would be enough to win it, we weren’t sure, but we just didn’t hold our end of the bargain more or less because we have dropped points and didn’t make up enough ground on them.
“Saturday was a tough game, we’ve played a few games in quick succession, 10 of our players on Saturday started on Thursday, so we were tired but we were alright, we had a few chances and they had a few.
“And it was the same at Islandmagee, we weren’t bad, we just couldn’t get the ball in the net and those points we dropped there was the end for us I think, the draws have really been our downfall.”
Whatever way things pan out, Haughey is already excited about 22/23. In recent years, Immaculata’s season has petered out quietly, leaving Haughey wondering how his team can bridge the gap to the champions, namely Crumlin Star in those days.
But that’s no longer the case, with the arrival of new blood over recent months convincing the 27-year-old that the West Belfast outfit are ready to challenge again.
“We made some really good signings, Ruairi Murray, Ben McCaul and Logan Brady, they came in late January and towards the end of February, and it wasn’t until we signed them that we actually thought, ‘Yeah we’re good enough now,’” explained Haughey, on 19 goals this season from playing mostly out wide.
“Before they came, we dropped points against Larne Tech, now I know they came on strong at the end of the season, but we played them in November when they’d barely won a game and drew with them.
“And then Drumaness, who were in the bottom three, beat us 4-1 at home, so although we maybe looked on paper like we weren’t far off it, we’d already thrown away too many points before we got to March when we really felt like we were good enough to compete.
“That put us in a position then where we nearly had to win every game, so if we had have had those signings at the start, we could have really kicked on.
“But from when Bru took over, we were 10th and now we’re in contention, and I think those signings are a turning point for us going into next season.
“Now I’m confident we’re going to compete with the big teams again, whereas we haven’t done that for the last few years.”
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