Kicking Match: An Irish League Podcast

The Irish League is back and so is the podcast! There's 228 game of thrilling NIFL Premiership action ahead of us, and with so much football about to take place we know you have plenty of questions. Who are the favourites for the title? Who's improved this summer? Who could finding things difficult? And what surprises could be in store? To help answer all those questions and more, fellow I...

It's been a hot minute, aka month, and the Irish League made plenty of headlines in that time, so Peter Cinnamond is back with those pesky Around the Ground boys - Joe McCallion and Ross Welsh - to review all the happenings since the season's final season. From transfer sagas to social media handshake teases, we talk about who is dominating the early recruitment game. The League already ha...

Season is now properly, kinda, pretty much over. The European spots are nailed on and teams are starting to work on their team for next summer. We review the latest Irish League transfer dealings, assess the fallout of the European Play Off final on both Glentoran and Cliftonville, ask how Ballymena United will rebuild under their next manager and discuss the league's latest ticket price incre...

We welcome back Kicking Match OG, commentator and presenter Michael Clarke to review all the predictions we made about the teams in the NIFL Premiership before the 2022/23 season kicked off all the way back in early August. Plus, we recap the Irish Cup Final and preview the forthcoming European play offs. {00:00:00}{Introduction/Irish Cup Final} {00:08:59}{European Play Off Preview} {00:15:59}{Iri...

We get ourselves into the Irish Cup spirit as we look ahead to Sunday's showpiece final at Windsor Park. We talk to Gavin Martin from the Crusaders media team and his Ballymena opposite number Anthony Greer to get an insight into each camp and discuss who and what could be the difference makers as we run back last year's famous final. Plus a special guest appearance from Northern Irish bro...

The fairytale did not have a happy ending, Portadown are set to be relegated and hometown hero Niall Currie is gonna have the job of his life on his hands to rebuild the Ports into an Irish League force once again. Belfast Telegraph's Keith Bailie joins the pod to chat the NI Football Awards, potential NIFL reshuffling and all the latest transfer rumours around the Irish League.

Larne are champions, Cliftonville are looking for a new manager, Glenavon have snagged themselves a European play off spot and the Swifts/Ports battle for safety comes to ahead this weekend! And to pick our way through it all, Peter is joined by Conor Houston and Gareth Frazer of the much loved Irish League podcast The Waffle! #Tasty

A special Easter bonus episode looking back at all the action of the Easter Tuesday games plus the windy and rainy BelClassico. In a week were Larne edged so close to the Gibson Cup they can almost taste it, Newry City take out Portadown at Shamrock to firm up their survival bid and Bobby Burns scores past Linfield again to put him into the upper echelon of East Belfast derby heroes. Jumping aboar...

A huge Good Friday in the Irish League leaves Larne with one had on the Gibson cup and a thrilling dogfight for survival in prospect. Plus, with a new Premiership sponsor, a debate has ignited about the amount of teams in the top division. Is 10, 12 or 16 the best choice moving forward? This week we're joined by writer, commentator and podcaster from the Larne Media team, Mark Strange.

Three games packing the punch of a full schedule this weekend. The Irish Cup proved its status as a hotbed for shocks and thrilling entertainment as we look forward to a repeat of last year's final. Plus we have the company of commentator and Portadown Media Team member Jonny Dunlop to chat through the news of the week and do a deep dive into whether the red half of Mid-Ulster have what it tak...

Linfield rolled back the year (or months) as they showcased their title credentials. They've duffed two of the leagues bottom teams, but could those just be warm ups for what's to come. Doesn't help that sense of the inevitable happening once again as league leaders Larne fail to dispatch a 10 man Coleraine. It's Irish Cup semi-final weekend coming up so we preview that, and use th...

Larne are acing every test the Gibson cup has been setting them recently and it's made all the better for them that title challenges continue to slip and fall away in pursuit. Perhaps Dungannon will be on their end of season greeting card, another double at Solitude crushing the North Belfast faithfuls' hearts for the second time the season. Where does this leave Cliftonville and their cam...

We take a look back at the showpiece League Cup Final which left Coleraine devastated and Linfield hoping for more. In league action, we may have seen the game of the season as Portadown left it until the final minutes of their match against Newry to pull themselves out of the darkest of relegation threatened holes, at least for now. Plus, could Friday football be the future of the Irish League? W...

From cup upsets to final previews, non-league action tires to take centre stage this week but top flight drama and the usual Irish League hot debates muscled their way into a jam packed pod. Luckily for us, content creator Peaky joins Peter for a welcome return behind a Kicking Match mic to share their view on all the latest comings and goings within football in Northern Ireland.

Larne stand firm after Taylor's Avenue drama, Cliftonville and the Blue keep up their chase. Plus, Portadown and Newry City keep things interesting down at the bottom. Sports Journalist Lewis Bennett jumps on the pod to review this weekend's games, which included a stellar performance from young starlet Sean Moore who grabbed a brace.  He also gives us great insight into the often overlooked...

Journalist Michael Scott joins the pod this week to review the latest gameweek action in the Irish League and reflect on the fortunes of his beloved Glenavon. 

The Irish League is in full flow, but our cousins in the League Of Ireland have just kicked off their new season for 2023. And to be honest, we have a lot of questions. So we called up fellow podcaster and football journalist Kieran Burke to give us an insight into what's been going on while the league was away, who are the favourites for glory and do they talk about the idea of an All Island Leag...

The title race isn't just heating up, it's not bubbling away either. It's on full power boil, and the only thing holding it back from complete overflow is a metaphorical wooden spoon hanging on across the pot.  Add in the rather spicy pepper that is Kyle Lafferty signing for Linfield into the pot and we have a concoction you can't take you eyes off. We chat to a man repping the team currently...

Sports Journalist Mark McIntosh (The Sun) returns to the pod for a frank discussion on Irish League finances. In a week which saw reports of Ballymena United looking to potentially cut costs and increase revenue to make the club more financially sustainable, we ask if we should be concerned about the chance some clubs are over extending themselves? What lessons should we learn from the past? And i...

Sports journalist Stephen Looney jumps on the pod to help pick our way through the final throws of one of the biggest January transfer windows the league has ever scene. What impact could these moves have on the destination of the Gibson Cup and which teams are still in the league next year? We review the weekend's games and look ahead to the Sixth Round of the Irish Cup. 

Admin mishaps once again plague Portadown as their appeal against NIFL's decision to award Newry City a 3-0 victory from their key meeting in December is dismissed by Irish FA. We spend time talking to the Belfast Telegraph's Keith Bailie, the man who originally broke the story, to get down to the roots of this case and decipherer what Portadown have been punished for. Could it have been avoided?...

One of the biggest headline grabbing characters in the Irish League has left our touchlines. Recorded before the news broke, this week we spent time with Matthew Brown of the Shout at the Oval podcast to breakdown all the bumps along the way which led to Glentoran manager Mick McDermott stepping away from the post.  

A cup round short on shocks serves up plenty for us to dissect. From a banner protest by plastic sacks of air to bumper transfer swap deals. We pick through the big moments of the Irish Cups 5th round, react to a rather tasty last 16 draw and give you all the latest from what is already one of the most significant January transfer windows the league has seen.  Top sports reporter Barry Flynn...

With the festive period in the rear-view, we bounce into the new year with an abundant title field and a potentially expanding drop zone collective. The season of dark horses is over, and it's now time for teams to show their spots. With the new year comes a chance for teams to refresh their squads, and some have been more keen that others early doors.  We take a look back the the NYD +1 resu...

It's great to have Boxing Day back! A couple of thrillers too as the most heated rivals player out on a brisk afternoon. Blues cool heads prevailed at the Oval, Crusaders with a greatest hits performance in North Belfast and Shevlin was the difference on the North coast.  Big crowds mean a big podcast, this week joined by Belfast Live reporter and Queen's Radio Sports Editor Lauren McCann.&nb...