Irish Cup Final: David Healy's unbelievable night was 'one to forget' for Jim Magilton
Jim Magilton will be coming up against his good friend David Healy in the opposition dugout in the Irish Cup final this afternoon.
The former Northern Ireland teammates will lead Cliftonville and Linfield out for the showpiece final in front of a packed house. The duo tasted many special nights at Windsor Park but Magilton revealed how he played a special role in one of Healy's most memorable games for the Green and White Army even though he wasn't even playing!
"It was before the game at home to Spain, and at the time I was managing Ipswich and we were in the hunt for a centre-forward and as he was walking down for the warm-up he jokingly said ‘Jim, I’m available’ and I went ‘you’re kidding me aren’t you?’,"smiled Magilton
Read more: Irish Cup Final: Everything fans need to know ahead of Windsor Park showpiece
"And when he scored the third, I felt about two foot tall and he was giving it loads, his celebration after the third goal was in front of me. It was a moment to forget for me but an unbelievable night for him.
"I have an unbelievable amount of respect for David. He started his coaching journey at the IFA, but he didn't last too long because this (Linfield job) came calling for him. To think this is his first job in management and look at the job he has done given the pressure that this job brings and entails - I think he has done an incredible job.
"He has done an incredible job for the league too because at the end of the day it's David Healy who has so many international caps with the goals he has scored. He has brought a bit of celebrity status to the league and he has backed it up."
The friendship will be parked for 90 minutes this afternoon as Magilton bids to end Cliftonville's long winless run in the Irish Cup, which he believes would be an "important statement to make". The Reds have had a good campaign to date having secured European football for next season after a strong showing in the league.
But Magilton knows lifting silverware and ending their long Irish Cup winless streak would cap everything off. "It would give us a sense of what happens after that because we have to go into next season with a sense of well we can compete and win," said the Reds boss.
"That's an important statement to make. The best teams win the league over a 38-game period. This is a knockout competition and we have every opportunity to go and win it. We've shown we can with the qualities we've shown for large parts of this season and it would be a justification for the hard work the players have put in.
"It's evidence that you can go into next season able to compete with the big boys in the league. It's the last game of the season and it's a huge game - it's a sellout and there's going to be lots of noise around it.
"It's one of those fantastic days that you very rarely get. If you get it more than once you're lucky. I had an unbelievable day out at Wembley, but it was only a fantastic day because we won.
"Winning that final against Barnsley, it was the last competitive game (at the original Wembley Stadium) - I only really remember it because we won it and come 2:30pm on Saturday it's about a game. If they manage to do it - which I have great belief that they can - it would be wonderful."
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