Irish League boss confident club can keep hat-trick hero after 'little bit of summer interest'
Limavady United manager Paul Owens admits there was transfer interest in attacker John Butcher during the summer – but remains confident the club can hold onto the 23-year-old, who scored a hat-trick in Saturday’s 4-2 Championship win over Ballinamallard United.
Butcher has played an important role in Limavady’s Irish League rise since joining the club from Newtowne in 2023, scoring seven times as they won the Premier Intermediate League.
Last term, Butcher netted 10 second-tier goals and brought his tally for the current campaign to five by firing home a treble in what was the final match on grass at the Limavady Showgrounds.
Butcher signed a new three-year contract with the Roesiders in June, warning off interested parties, and Owens feels he’s capable of hitting even greater heights.
"Of course (we can keep hold of him)!” he told BBC Sportsound. “There was a little bit of interest in him in the summer.
"He's a local lad, loves playing for the club and was keen to extend his contract. He's in a very good place here.
"We played him right through the middle because I thought his pace could hurt them. He has had a good season, but I think he should be scoring more goals - I think he only had two league goals coming into today.
"He could have scored five or six, but to score a hat-trick, I think it's his first in senior football and we're all delighted for him."
Limavady, who are level on points with leaders Annagh United, will play their home matches at the neighbouring Coleraine Showgrounds as their new artificial pitch is installed – it’s expected to take around 12 weeks.
No Championship team has picked up more points on home turf than Limavady (26) this season and they’re now on a 10-game unbeaten league run, but Owens is confident the mid-term switch won’t impact his side.
"I definitely do (think Coleraine will suit us),” he added. “We did really well in the mud today, but we lost eight league games last season and six were at home, so I think it hindered us last year.
"I think it's 11 league games and we've won eight and drawn two out there this season so our form has been good. It's maybe not as pretty on the eye as I would like it to be at times, but every game is tough in this league.
"We train on a 3G pitch and we all like playing on it. We're looking forward to getting to Coleraine, but we're looking forward to getting back here.
"It was a big day for the club and there was an event on today...we spoke about the memories before we left the changing room. I had memories from 2004 here and some of the boys laughed because they weren't even born!
"It was good for John to finish on the grass because I told them to make this last game special and we did."