Patrick Dillon insists Newhill are confident they can seal the deal in 2C after the league leaders extended their winning streak to nine with a 5-1 drubbing of Taughmonagh.
The Newhill skipper was among the scorers at Newforge Lane on Saturday, taking his tally for the season to 25.
The victory keeps the heat on Newhill’s rivals, with Dillon of the opinion the race for top spot has now narrowed to four: themselves, second-placed Belfast Celtic, St Mary’s in fourth and Taughmonagh in seventh.
With the points on the board, however, and with his team still to face their Falls Park neighbours Belfast Celtic twice, the 30-year-old forward reckons his club hold their fate in their own hands.
“The two games against Belfast Celtic are going to be massive,” said Dillon.
“If anybody can get six points from that, that puts you in the position more or less able to win the league.
“But St Mary’s are breathing down our necks, and they have played us twice and Belfast Celtic twice so they’re looking good too.
“I can’t see any of us dropping many more points, Taughmonagh are there as well, but the rest of the teams, you can’t really see where anyone of us will drop more points.
“If we get six points from the Celtic games, I would fancy us to win the league, that’s the aim and we’ve put ourselves in a good position.”
A few years ago, before Covid called a premature halt to the season, it was a similar situation, with Newhill top but Celtic boasting games in hand which, if maximised, would have sent them clear.
“We were sitting pretty to go up that year, I think Belfast Celtic would have gone on to win it but just before Covid hit, they lost one and then went out of the cup so you just don’t know,” added Dillon.
“I haven’t come up against Belfast Celtic yet this year, but they are usually very strong and we play them not this Saturday but next so we’re looking forward to it.
“But first we’ve got UUJ this week and we’ll look no further than that.”
