St James’ Swifts boss Barry Johnston accepts his side will be underdogs against Ballymacash Rangers when the two sides battle it out for a place in senior football.
Johnston’s Swifts clinched the Ballymena and Provincial Intermediate League title at the weekend with a 2-0 win over Ballymoney United.
That success has now teed up a huge play-off against Mid Ulster champs Ballymacash to see who will progress to the NIFL Premier Intermediate League.
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The first leg is at Ballymacash's Bluebell ground on Tuesday, with the reverse leg four days later at the Swifts' home ground at Donegal Celtic.
“We now have a play-off against Ballymacash Rangers to look forward to, and that will be another big test for us,” Johnston told Match on Tuesday.
“They are a top class team and Lee Forsythe has done a brilliant job there. I have been down to watch them a few times and we will be underdogs.
“We will just try and give a good account of ourselves.
“Both clubs are ambitious and want to keep climbing the ladder. Ballymacash’s facilities at the Bluebell are fantastic and they are a credit to their community, just like St James’ are.
“The people at Ballymacash are so friendly and nice and they never stop. They are very ambitious and have so many people working towards their goals.
“They have a quality team as well with good, experienced players who have been there and done it.
“We have a very young team, a small team. They are the opposite. They have well established players so if you look at it on paper they will be favourites.
“We just want to go out and give it our best shot and not let the people of St James’ down.”
Johnston added: “We accept the underdog tag for this one, and the only pressure will be the pressure we put on ourselves.
“We don’t want to let the St James’ community down. There will be a massive turnout from our fans, and Ballymacash will bring a big support too.
“We will go in with no fear, and if we play our game then we will have a big chance. The play-off is over two legs and anything can happen.”
St James’ Swifts pipped Belfast Celtic to the Ballymena and Provincial Intermediate League title.
Both clubs were docked points during the season due to player registration issues, and it is understood Celtic have lodged an appeal to the Irish FA over their deductions.
“It is unfortunate that both clubs lost out on points due to player registration issues,” Johnston said.
“You never like to see any side lose out that way, but if both clubs hadn’t lost those points we would still have won the league anyway.
“It is one of those things where we’ve done it and we are proud of it.
“Belfast Celtic are a brilliant team run by a very good friend of mine in Stephen McAlorum. We had a great battle all season and it went to the wire.
“It was a great advertisement for the league.”
Johnston added: “Winning the league is a fantastic achievement.
“The club has only been going for about 10 years. It was started up by a couple of young players and 10 years later the club has grown and established itself as a good intermediate level club.
“And now we are champions of the Intermediate League so it is an unbelievable achievement and something the area can be very proud of.”
Now the club is waiting on confirmation of dates for their play-off with Ballymacash.
And Johnston accepts there is a “massive prize” on the line for the winners.
“We are an ambitious club, and right from the start our committee put targets in place and one of those targets was getting into senior football,” he said.
“It is a big, big carrot for us and we are two games away from being an Irish League team.
“So it is a big achievement to even get to the play-off, but now we’re here we will be doing everything we can to get across the line.”
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