Peter McCann: Making it to the Irish League would be huge for Oxford Sunnyside
Peter McCann says losing last season’s Premier Intermediate League play-off in devastating fashion helped give Oxford Sunnyside an inner fire to finish the job off this term with the Mid-Ulster club now one match away from a first visit to the Irish League.
Having won Intermediate A – a feat they repeated once again this season – the Lurgan-based side were denied promotion after a late Coagh United strike resulted in both them and Rathfriland Rangers making it through the play-offs.
This time around, Paddy McCrory’s men have been pitted against Ballymena & Provincial League outfit Strabane Athletic with the tie finely poised heading into tonight’s second-leg following Tuesday’s 1-1 draw at Knockramer Park.
An ambitious club, Sunnyside are determined to make it into the NIFL pyramid and McCann admits achieving it would be “huge” for everybody involved.
"The way that it happened last year with the last kick of the ball stopping us going up...it was a real blow,” he said. “Paddy and I sat down after the disappointment of that and said there's no way we're letting that stand in our way.
"We have a goal and direction where we want the club to go and we're looking to move forward.
"We sat down with all the boys and said we're going for it again and everyone was on board straight away. They didn't want to go out like that and they've shown fantastic character.
"It gives you a fire in your belly that you're not going to just go and hide under a rock...you want to come back fighting. We set targets for ourselves at the start of the season and one of those is to move into the PIL. It's in our own hands.
"It would be huge for us. The club have never been there before and it's something that has been in planning for a long time. The club is in a great place structurally and everything is in place for us to take that next step."
Sunnyside have already completed a treble this season, adding the Isaac Gilkinson Premier Cup and Marshall Cup to league glory, and McCann believes they could hold their own in the third-tier if they’re able to get over this hurdle.
"Paddy and I believe that and all the boys in the squad believe it,” he added. “The toughest hurdle we have ahead of us is getting into the league.”