Private Linfield player tribute to Michael Newberry ahead of Irish Cup events in honour of former defender

The aftershock following the sudden and tragic death of Michael Newberry was still very much on the mind of the former Northern Ireland international striker and his team.

Having spent a successful three-and-a-half years at Linfield, the Newcastle-born defender was not only a popular future in the dressing room but also among the Blues’ supporters.

In the tie, following emotional pre-match tributes to Newberry, striker Matthew Fitzpatrick bagged his first ever senior hat-trick, while strike partner Robbie McDaid hit the net for the first time in almost two years following injury woes.

Although Healy was pleased to be in the draw for the next phase of the competition, his thoughts were with the Newberry family.

“You must put everything into perspective,” said Healy following the fifth-round clash. “I was speaking with Michael’s dad, Michael senior, on Friday.

"He told me to go and smash it (against Wellington) tomorrow for Michael.

"I don’t think we smashed it, but in terms of what we did, hopefully, we made the Newberry family proud.

“It’s been a tough week, it was a day that football took a back seat, to be honest.

"Our dressing room will continue to be numb for a long while.”

Newberry’s passing was the second tragedy in the Linfield camp. Young physiotherapist Paul Butler passed away back in June.

“We’ve had a tough number of months, with Michael’s death coming soon after us losing Paul – they are things that are out of our control as players and staff,” said Healy. “It will be with us for some time.

"It will be constant, as it is with the loss of Paul. It’s an outpouring of pain that people feel.”

The Linfield players paid their own little tribute to their former team-mate in the privacy of the dressing room before the game.

Healy added: “We showed a pre-match video of the many unbelievable memories that we shared with Michael.

“In terms of a team talk before the match, I didn’t need to say much; I didn’t need to use too many words; I didn’t need to go into any great detail of how important it was.

“It was a matter of getting the job done, under difficult circumstances.

"I was pleased to go through to the next round of the competition...I was pleased for ‘Fitzy’ getting his goals and delighted for Robbie getting on the scoresheet after a horrible time with injury.

“Inside, I was bubbling for them, but it’s hard to be excitable.”

The performance by Wellington Rec left manager Glenn Taggart full of praise.

“We probably went into the game as with everyone thinking we’ll be tanked, but thankfully that didn’t happen,” said Taggart. "We came to the best team in the league and the best manager in the league and we wanted to give a good account of ourselves.

"I think we done that.

“Linfield just come at you constantly and they don’t let you off the hook.

"I was willing the clock to go a bit faster at the finish to be honest.

"But I was immensely proud and it was a fantastic day out for the boys.”