Reaching the ToalsBet.Com Steel and Sons Cup Final is a milestone moment in Willowbank’s history — and Pearse Devine reckons the family feel around the club can hold the key to an historic trophy success.
The ‘Bank captain will lead his side’s charge in their first ever Steel decider against Derriaghy CC, and there’s no hiding his delight at representing the club and community in the Christmas Day showpiece (10.45am).
This ambitious team from the Falls Road in west Belfast have enjoyed a meteoric ascent in the last decade, rising from the Belfast and District League to Division 1A of the Amateur League with their repeated promotions singling them out as a force to be reckoned with.
What’s arguably most impressive about their upward trajectory, however, is how they’ve managed to do it with virtually the same group of players throughout the years.
As 34-year-old skipper Devine explains, the Willowbank squad is almost unchanged from 10 years ago, lending a family atmosphere that fills him with pride.
“It’s a massive moment for the club,” he says. “Ten years ago, probably not even, we were playing in the Belfast and District League; we’ve come a long way from then.
“And I think one of the best things about it as well is that we’re so close as a team, we’re basically all mates who have been together from day one.
“Our team, bar one or two players, will have been the same team who’s played there for the past 10 years, so to do it together is massive.
“Most of our team are cousins, brothers; everyone’s related, everyone’s family.
“The togetherness has always been there, we’ve been close mates not just from the football but from way back.
“It goes back to primary school, it goes back to nursery school, boys who’ve come through life together, and that’s why it means a lot to us.”
Devine adds that the players’ status as role models in the local community is also something that will drive Declan McCrory’s side onwards in the Final.
Getting people involved from the youngest age groups in the Academy right up to the first-team panel is a formula for success for generations, and the midfielder expects to see the fans come out in numbers to will him and his team-mates on.
“It actually started off as the local youth club, and from then it’s progressed through into football,” Devine adds.
“Everyone does get behind us. You have kids in the street who are walking about and people see you as a role model, which is amazing too because then you get them into the club and they play and they start to get into it.
“We’ve teams basically from the age of four up to the senior level, so it’s not just about us, it’s about every single person from the community and the youth club to the football club the whole way through. So it’ll be a massive day for us, I can’t wait to get going.”
Devine also took a moment to reflect on those Willowbank have loved and lost and says that doing them proud will motivate them on the big day, too.
He spoke about the parts played by former ‘Bank captain James Moore, who passed away in 2017, and chairman George McCabe, who died three years ago, and paid a special tribute to both men for their significant roles in the club’s rise up the ranks.
A minute’s silence was also held before Willowbank’s 2-0 Semi-Final victory over Ballymoney United last month to remember Devine’s father Alfie, who had passed away just a couple of days earlier, and the skipper is driven to deliver for those who are no longer here that have built the foundations the club are laid upon.
“We lost our captain a few years back, James Moore, and that kind of gave us the drive to push on,” he explains.
“We also lost our chairman George McCabe too, and we’re always kind of trying to do them proud, do their families proud.
“On Christmas Day, that’ll be part of what we’ve talked about. It’s not just about us, it’s about the community you represent, it’s about the people who aren’t here anymore who built the club, like George McCabe, who built the club up from nothing.
“James Moore dragged this club through Leagues upon Leagues upon Leagues, so not only that, but they’re also close friends and they’re more like family to us.”
Assessing where the game could be won or lost, while Derriaghy won the two meetings of the sides last year, Devine believes it will come down to who manages the occasion best.
The Seycon Park side knocked Willowbank out of last season’s Steel and Sons Cup Quarter-Finals on penalties before Curtis Black’s last-gasp winner then helped them win the sides’ Clarence Cup Semi-Final dust-up in May.
But with classy centre-back Eamonn Hughes back after a season in the Championship with Newington and the gifted Noel Halfpenny recruited from Crumlin Star this term, the ‘Bank have added quality and Devine is hoping that can make the difference.
“We’re blessed with some good players, obviously we have to work hard, and that’s maybe what people don’t see when you’re putting the work in week in, week out,” he says.
“The work we put in behind the scenes is ridiculous, the extra training and everything, and it just has to all come together.
“Obviously, we’re blessed with some decent players too, so it makes it a lot easier.
“It’s really down to the day and how you kind of control the nerves, control the atmosphere, control everything that comes with it.
“Maybe Derriaghy are slight favourites, but both games last year, they were close games and everyone will probably fancy themselves, to be honest.”