'The boys are winning machines' - Amateur League boss looking club to continue creating history as they target further silverware

The Belfast club have been on a meteoric rise in recent years – they were playing in Division 2C in 2018 – and have already celebrated a silverware double after following their Border Cup triumph up by strolling to the league title, only losing two matches and scoring 110 goals in the process to seal a third consecutive promotion.

Their quest for further glory takes them to Seaview, a venue which feels like a second home due to continued success, on Saturday evening where they face Premier Division side Derriaghy CC in the Clarence Cup semi-finals.

This will be Willowbank’s 16th match since the start of March with progression in various cup competitions creating a fixture backlog, but McCrory says his side love the big stage and in a season where creating history has become the norm, they’re looking to progress to the club’s maiden showpiece decider in a tournament they’ve targeted since their junior days.

"It has been brilliant...we couldn't have asked for any more,” he reflected on the season so far. “We were talking before we clinched the title that the minimum I asked for from the boys was promotion and a cup final.

"To have the cup in the bag halfway through the season was a serious statement of intent from the boys that we're able to compete at the top table of Intermediate football.

"Last season, the boys were disappointed with the showing we gave and we were unlucky in some of the cup games. Even though we won the league title there was still a bitter taste because the boys are winning machines. They crave those big cup nights.

"It's one that even when we were a junior side doing well and winning cups that we would target. The Clarence Cup is one we've coveted for years and this is the furthest we've got in it, so hopefully we can take it another step further on Saturday."

Sometimes when you’re in the middle of a journey it can be hard to stop and take in just how far you’ve come with Willowbank enjoying one of the club’s greatest moments in January when facing Dungannon at Stangmore Park.

After occasions like that, McCrory has been able to sit back and reflect on the path from local leagues to the big time, and he wants his team to keep writing chapters in the history book.

"During training and matches you don't think much about the journey, but when everyone is together after the match in the bar you reminisce or after big matches you can take it in,” he added. “In the Irish Cup earlier this season, some of our boys were saying it's a free hit, but I told them about the time I played in a Willowbank team that got beaten 12-0 in Falls Park.

"To say we were even in the Irish Cup was an achievement in itself and I wanted everyone to hit it as hard as they would any other match. We'd just won the Border Cup a few days before and we were able to not take it for granted where we've came from and how high we've been able to drive the club with nearly the same group of players."

The other semi-final sees Kilmore Rec take on Drumaness Mills – also at Seaview – with kick-off at 4pm before Willowbank vs Derriaghy starts at 8pm in North Belfast.