Newtown boss reacts to LSC triumph

Rory Hackett may not be a widely known figure in the League of Ireland community but it is a name that supporters of Shelbourne will be suddenly, and somewhat painfully, aware of.  Along with Trevor O’Brien he is co-manager of Wicklow & District League side Newtown United who produced a stunning cup shock when they knocked First Division Shelbourne out of the Leinster Senior Cup last Sunday.

A late. late winner from Dessie Waters sent the team from Newtownmountkennedy through to the quarter-finals where they will face Bohemians and Hackett is thrilled not just for his players but for the town as well.

“[Drawing Shelbourne] was fantastic. It’s what you want, to go up against one of the big guns. It lifted the whole town, it gave everybody something to talk about, something to look forward to. The official gate was 407 or so but kids and OAPs were in free so somebody came back to me and said there could have been closer to 600”

A native of nearby Newcastle, he has a long history with Newtown having enjoyed a long playing career with the club himself and he believes that the spirit within his team of all-local players is a powerful advantage when his men take to the field.

“Everybody on the team bar three players are from the village itself and one of them has only ever played his football in Newtown. He’s only from out the road.

“The good thing about Newtown, and teams like us, is that we all know each other. They all live in the same town, they all went to the same school, they’ve all hung around together. And you get a work ethic then, they all stick together and work hard as a team. That’s what we have going for us.”

For a team with no League of Ireland experience on its roster The Reds would have posed a formidable proposition to the Wicklow Juniors, but Hackett felt his team deserved their win, and the new Shelbourne boss, Kevin Doherty, wasn’t inclined to disagree.

“Hand on heart I would say overall, yeah, [we did]. Particularly in the second half. Their ‘keeper saved three absolute certainties. Our ‘keeper pulled off one save towards the end but it was quite comfortable. Before that, they hit the post in the first half but after that they didn’t really threaten. Their manager (Doherty) said to me after the game, ‘Look, you deserved it. There’s no two ways about it’.”

And the adventure is not over yet. Sunday’s win now offers Hackett’s side a chance to repeat their heroics with another of Ireland’s biggest clubs lined up in the quarter-finals. 

“Most of the lads were hoping for Bray Wanderers in the next round because they’re a Wicklow side as well, but the reward we got was Bohs. It’s huge. Huge! Whatever about getting Shelbourne, who are one of the big guns of Irish football, but then to get Bohs... it’s massive.”

Apart from the scale of the challenge involved in facing Keith Long’s Premier Division side, the club must also figure out where they will play the game. Despite being drawn at home Newtown’s Matt Kelly Memorial Ground pitch has been ruled ineligible as it is council owned, so they will have to look elsewhere for a venue.

“We’re undecided what’s going to happen next. There is talk of it going to the Carlisle [which] would be the obvious choice but some of the players have expressed an interest in going to Dalymount. They’d love to get the chance to play there but that’s something we’ll have to sit down and work out - if it’s a wise decision or not.

“We’ve beaten Tallaght City away, we’ve beaten Bluebell away, and now we’ve beaten Shels away; but there is a time when you have to say our luck could run out. We have to be careful but, like I said, we’re all going to sit down and work out what’s best. We’re kind of used to Bray, we’ve played a lot of Cup finals in Bray over the years so the lads would be very familiar with Bray. And it would also help with the support. Bray is only five or ten minutes away from us and I’d say we’d get a lot more people if was in Bray than if it was in Dalymount.”

And does he believe that Newtown can on to ever greater heights in this year’s competition? “Anything is possible”, he says with genuine confidence.

“That’s the great thing about football, anything can happen. That’s why I love it. I’ve seen crazy stuff in football over the years whether it be professional or amateur and you can never say never because anything is possible. It’s a long shot but, look at, we’ve just beaten Shels.”

Indeed they have, and who is to say Newtown United might not have a few more surprises in store for us yet.