It's now or never for Institute!

Institute vs. Newington

Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium

Saturday, 3pm

Institute can no longer afford any mistakes, with their final home game against Newington today an absolute must-win.

With just two leagues remaining, ‘Stute are in desperate need of a win, and anything other than three points this weekend could mean the best they can hope for is a relegation play-off. Last Saturday’s draw with Dergview was just more of the same for ‘Stute, who took the lead, failed to kill their opponents off, then conceded an equaliser. It means that ‘Stute have now lost 28 points from winning positions this season.  

“I think overall a draw was probably a fair result," boss Brian Donaghey reflected afterwards. “In terms of clear-cut chances, we scored a well-worked goal through Shaun Leppard following a good cross from Jack Millar. Then Sean McCarron creates a chance on his own and it’s whiskers away I think. You just want that to nestle in the side netting because he’s done so well leading up to it. Then Jamie Dunne, it’s a fraction behind him and he gets good contact, but not enough contact. At half time you’re going in 1-0 up and a second goal would have been nice.

“I’m disappointed with the goal we conceded, I’m not going to lie. The lads, fair play to them, have probably headed away 20 or 30 balls because they do rain crosses in on you, and the ball just drops to the one person you don’t want it to drop to.

“The way the other results went, it would have been a really good day if we got the three points, but one point means our destiny is still in our own hands and we live to fight another day.”

A win against Newington today would mean that ‘Stute avoid automatic relegation, but they still might require a result away at Ballinamallard on the final day of the season. Whatever the permutations may be, ‘Stute simply must win their next game.  

“They are getting bigger and bigger,” Donaghey acknowledged. “It’s a game that we are more than capable of winning. We had three tough matches in a week and there are a few lads really struggling so recovery is going to be key. We’ll have a game plan in place and hopefully a couple of extra bodies back. We’ll look forward to it.

“We have to take care of ourselves. We’re all fighting for our lives. The players are together as a group and they definitely deserved their point against Dergview. They were disappointed and it’s good to be disappointed sometimes because hopefully we can use that hurt to try and get a positive result against Newington.”

Motivation

If ‘Stute needed any extra motivation for this weekend’s game, they can use the memory of the last time Newington came to the Brandywell. That night back in February was ‘Stute’s lowest point of the season as they lost.

“The game came too quickly for us on Tuesday night,” Donaghey recalled. “I think it was Valentine’s Day. We gifted them two goals. It was horrendous weather that night and they defended for their lives. Newington are a good side. They are playing with confidence and they are like a band of brothers, they all live in close proximity to each other. They have been together as a squad for the last four or five years. I know them very well from my time with Cliftonville. They are an honest bunch and it will be a really, really difficult game.”

Having scored the first goal in 20 of 36 league games this season, Donaghey would love his team to finally hold onto a lead in what could well be the biggest game of the club’s history.

“Nobody plays through us,” he said. “It always seems to be scrappy goals or goals which could be prevented. But we don’t seem to get them. I can’t remember the last time one of our players tapped the ball in. We have to work really, really hard for our goals and if we can cut that out and cut out the errors and be a wee bit more prolific up top, then hopefully we’ll get the win on Saturday.”