It's never boring in the Irish League as top teams are made to work for their victories. It a weekend where we say Bangor continues their sterling start to the campaign, Glenavon still have work to do and Portadown end up playing an outfield player in goal after McCarey sees red.
Writer and journalist Barry Flynn makes his welcome return to the podcast to recap the recent games and spotlight what has been happening in the Championship.
It's the annual tradition which see every teams early season offerings go under the microscope. All inspected by the luring eyes of Ross Welsh and Joe McCallion from Around The Grounds NI. n
Few games but plenty to talk about. Coleraine climbed to the top of the table with a solid win at derby foes Ballymena United. Dungannon Swifts pulled off a surprise victory against Glentoran after falling behind early on. Carrick Rangers narrowly got the better of Portadown and Bangor rounded off the weekend in style, sweeping aside Glenavon to continue their impressive run of form.
Re-caped in full in the company of Stephen Alexander.
Stormy Amy blew a gust on Friday but Saturday held firm to give us an eventful weekend of games which shook up the early table.
Stuart McKinley from the Belfast Telegraph joins the pod.
For the third season on the bounce there's a managerial change at Glenavon. Following a heralded start to his time in charge of the Lurgan Blues, Paddy McLaughlin follows in the footsteps of Gary Hamilton and Stephen McDonnell in leaving the club after a difficult start to a campaign. What went wrong on this occasion and what direction which Glenavon turn to in order to save their top flight status?
Dave Watt joins the pod to chat all things Glenavon as well as recap the latest games.
The men from East Belfast claim their biggest scalp of the season by beating Coleraine on their own patch. Can this early momentum be maintained for Glentoran? Or is it setting up fans for another winter of discontent?
Elsewhere, Linfield get back to winning ways, Bangor claim a big win at Portadown as Mid-Ulster is plunged into further relegation anxiety.
All that and more, recapped in the company of Joel Neil.
PFA NI CEO Michael Carvill shares the concerns and hopes of the Irish League playing fraternity in 2025.
Aaron Vennard aka Irish League Grounds/@NIFLGrounds joins the podcast to share his reaction to the NI Football Fund's September announcement.
A howler, a shocker, a calamity?
Whatever way you describe the decision to award Linfield’s second goal on Saturday, Irish League fans are almost united in outrage at the latest refereeing blunder.
But what happens next? With NIFL CEO Gerald Lawlor hinting at change in his latest statement, the big question is: what will that actually look like?
Ally McCalmont joins the podcast to share his thoughts, plus a full recap of all the weekend’s games.
Stewart Cherry joins the podcast to break down Linfield’s humbling European exit at the hands of Shelbourne. Why does the Irish League continue to falter on the big stage?
We also recap the latest domestic action as Glentoran and Carrick Rangers play out a draw to remain unbeaten, while Glenavon and Dungannon Swifts continue to struggle, still searching for their first points of the season.
NIFL want your thoughts. They’ve launched a fan survey asking if summer football (and a new league schedule) is the way forward.
Meanwhile, Linfield have it all to do at Windsor after a 3-1 loss to Shelbourne in Dublin - can they pull off a big Euro comeback on home turf?
We're also asking: is it really fair to make teams play three games in one week? Portadown boss Niall Currie certainly had something to say about it!
Plus, we’ve got a full round-up from a jam-packed week of action. All in the company of Mark McGuiggan who is here to help make sense of it all.
After only 10 games in charge, Nathan Rooney's time in charge of Larne FC is over. We ask why the sudden move? How did we get here? What could it signal for Larne moving forward? And who might the Inver Park board look to for their next boss?
We also chat Linfield in Europe and all the latest Irish League games, all in the company of Keelan Leeper.
The Irish League is back and Matthew Brown from the Shout at the Oval podcast is here to review it all!
The new Premiership season burst into life over the weekend with goals, shocks and plenty more to get us buzzing. Carrick Rangers pulled off the big comeback, edging Crusaders 4–3 in a seven-goal rollercoaster, while Ballymena United were all business in a 2–0 win away to Glenavon.
On Sunday, Bangor made a dream return to the top flight by toppling Cliftonville 3–1. While Linfield flexed their title-chasing muscles with a crisp 3 goal victory over the Swifts.
The podcast is back for its fourth season. Bigger and better than ever, with our longest ever episode!
Over two hours of pure Irish League chat.
Your ultimate guide to the upcoming season of top-flight Irish League football. Every club’s prospects for the campaign ahead put under the microscope. Ross Welsh and Joe McCallion from Around the Grounds NI join the pod to share their predictions, including where they think every team will finish.
All that and more, right here on your latest weekly edition of Kicking Match.
TIMESTAMPS
Cliftonville - 00:09:12
Crusaders - 00:22:29
Glenavon - 00:34:01
Linfield - 00:41:14
Bangor - 00:55:26
Coleraine - 01:02:50
Glentoran - 01:10:46
Carrick Rangers - 01:18:50
Ballymena United - 01:24:40
Larne - 01:31:52
Portadown - 01:36:37
Dungannon Swifts - 01:44:40
Weekend's Games Preview - 01:52:46
The episode you’ve all been waiting for. Ross Welsh and Joe McCallion join Peter to look back at the 24/25 season, which is finally in the books.
Going through each team individually, predictions from the start of the season will be faced. Good, bad and the very ugly.
Plus, Dungannon Swifts topple Cliftonville to win their first ever Irish Cup, Carrick Rangers hang on their top flight status and Ruaidhrí Higgins is the brand new Coleraine boss.
Ross Welsh and Joe McCallion of Around The Grounds NI jump back onto the podcast for the first in a double header of season look backs.
Covering the final gameweek of the league campaign, look ahead to the Irish cup final and share our Irish League Team of the Seasons.
Writer and reporter Barry Flynn returns to the podcast as ‘Mr Championship’ shares his insight into Bangor finally confirmed their ascension back into top flight football next season.
However the future is not looking so bright for Newry City who had their relegation into intermediate football made a formality.
We also discuss Cliftonville fans rubberstamping their newCanadian ownership and look ahead to the final league gameweek of the season.
Keelan Leeper returns to the podcast to give his thoughts on the NIFL Awards, the chase for 2nd/Automatic European place and shares a behind the scenes perspective on inking an Irish League kit deal.
Linfield proudly paraded the Gibson cup around Windsor Parkover the weekend after finally overcoming Glentoran in their final attempt ofthe season. Proud Blueman Mark McGuiggan joins the pod to reflect on the seasonand ponder how the Blues recent failures may have shaped this team of leaguewinners.
Plus, the latest in the chase for Europe and despite a win on Saturday Loughall’stime in the top flight is essentially over, are they in a good place to bounceback next year?
Former Irish League winner and ex-Carrick Rangers manager Stuart King is this week's pod guest.
He responds to some calls that Linfield's trot to the title indicates a poor overall standard in the league this term. Are those suggestions accurate? Or more of a comment on the lifeless race for Gibson this term? How does this class of Irish League talent compare to previous years?
Plus, reaction to the Irish Cup semi-finals and a look ahead to the start of the split.
