Crusaders - Keeping the Faith True North

LOUD CHANTING AND SINGING

-CROWD CHANT:

-Crusaders! Crusaders!

Today, we are playing opposition, which are, probably,

within the four teams that I think capable of winning this league.

Crusaders Football Club from North Belfast...

..the kingpins of Irish League football.

-COMMENTATOR:

-Listen to the noise at Seaview.

For two years in a row, Crusaders have won the biggest prize of all,

the Danske Bank Premiership title.

This is a club that has fought to overcome more than most.

It was a simple task then to run inside

and kill the policeman from almost point-blank range.

Murder in the stadium.

Mayhem on its doorstep.

And a journey to the brink of bankruptcy.

At that stage it was, "If you can't produce the money, you're lights out. It's over."

SHOUTING

This season, Crusaders are preparing to dream the undreamable.

-You didn't go out at all?

-No.

But although it is yet to begin...

I love these friendly matches.

..the battle lines are already drawn.

It's a lateral ankle sprain.

The dream is to win the Premiership for an historic third time in a row.

CHANTING

And with the fan base prepared to take loyalty to the extremes...

You speak back to me again, you'll never play for this club again.

I'm telling you now.

..a manager ready to push his players to the limit...

"Don't burn out. Keep yourself fuelled in the flame.

"Don't quit on hard times.

"Pray all the harder."

..and a dressing room with faith at its core,

Crusaders Football Club is ready for war.

Let me tell you something, that's what it's going to be like this season.

All our players have done well in the last year or two.

You have targets, big targets on your back.

We will never, ever, ever be beaten until that whistle blows.

It's August, and Crusaders Football Club on North Belfast's Shore Road

is getting ready for the new season.

Argh!

Will you give us a hug, mate?

Give us a hug.

This is a very homely club.

And it always had a very loyal support.

Hardy annuals.

-Out!

-Mac, you have to let this in.

-Out!

Hello, Eric. Pint of Guinness?

Okey dokey, love.

Crusaders has been such a big chunk of my life.

You couldn't beat it. Best ever.

On those roads, with the terraced houses,

there's a family of people whose community is the Crusaders Football Club.

There's just that great sense of, this is our wee hub.

This is what we are about.

And the warmth of the people, for me, is, they would give you their last.

Stephen Baxter has been the first-team manager at Crusaders for nearly 12 years.

I see the heartbeat of who they are.

And they are just a humble people, a joyful people,

a people who have experienced hard knocks in life,

but are all very much together.

Crusaders are always the working class team, that will never change, though.

That's a good thing. But we've all sorts down here.

The working class people, like myself,

but there's people with a bit of money, you know,

they come down and it's great.

It's like one big family.

-CROWD:

-OOOOOOH!

# Local football team!

# He's the greatest! #

It doesn't really change from when I was, like, ten.

And now I'm 38. You still get the same buzz.

Come on.

Let's go!

The season is officially underway here in North Belfast.

To Heatley.

He opens his account for the season.

Can he create another one? Yes, he can!

CHEERING

That's the way you start, as you mean to go on.

Top, top-drawer stuff.

Crusaders have notched up their first victory.

But there are still 37 games to go before the season ends in April.

CHEERING

Every team is going to throw the kitchen sink at you with work rate.

What do we want to do? We want to put pressure on them.

Owens...

..who finds the net in injury time!

We've dug this out today, somehow,

now that's the mark of champions, by the way.

Six games into the season, and Crusaders are top of the league.

CHEERING

You're chalking them off and chalking them off and chalking them off.

There you are, Stephen.

Eight games in and Crusaders haven't lost a single match.

It's another game of football.

It's another game on the roster.

Crush them. Crush them, crush them.

Until the job is done.

This group of players are achieving,

at this moment in time, great things.

We will not let that standard drop.

By the end of September,

Crusaders are five points clear at the top of the league,

the dream of a third successive title is closer to becoming a reality.

We're heading down to Bangor,

to the physio.

Just to have a bit of rehab on my ankle.

Matthew Snoddy is still recovering from the injury he sustained in the

Charity Shield game, before the season started.

I can't imagine life without football.

It's torture, sitting on the sidelines, watching.

But I'll bounce back from it.

Four.

Five.

How does that feel, OK?

-It's a bit sore, aye.

-It's a bit sore?

-Yeah.

-OK, keep going.

I grew up in a house with four sisters and one brother.

It was crammed at times, and everyone was fighting over the mirror.

My sisters were always using the mirror and I was always wanting to fix my hair.

Nothing's changed in that part, now anyway, with me!

I want you to go up on your heels, and down.

Up on your heels and down.

It was just an ordinary council estate.

Loyalist council estate. You had your paramilitaries, obviously.

From a young age, it was something that I was always wary of.

Um...

I hated them.

To say the least.

I would have done anything just for them to disappear.

Whenever you're playing football, everything leaves your head.

It definitely is an escape, mentally, playing football.

Indeed, until, obviously, the final whistle goes,

and then you start thinking again.

Do you know, in another week or so we're going to get you onto the pitch.

-All right, mate?

-All good, yeah.

Off you come.

Mark, 40 quid on it.

40 quid, pop it in!

Yes!

Well done.

Eight quid.

Well, if anybody's late, they pay £2,

and if they are more than five minutes late, they pay £5

and if it's more than ten minutes, it's £10.

INDISTINCT SHOUTING

Usually you get the likes of Sean O'Neill and Colin Coates arguing how much they owe.

But they eventually give in to me in the end, so...

A fiver, young man.

-What?

-Four and one. Four for last week, and one...

-Sure, I was up!

-No, you weren't.

-Sorry, there is a pound.

-Aaah!

Four quid, four quid, OK, you owe me four quid. Sorry.

Nearly two months into the season

and Crusaders still haven't lost a single game.

But they are about to take on their arch-rivals.

It's the North Belfast derby.

This is the game that means more to every single Crues fan.

Linfield is a big game, Glentoran is a big game, they all come around,

big games, but this is the game that gets the blood boiling.

It's Cliftonville!

Once you... It's like, "Raargh"

# ..We'll keep our good flag flying... #

There's always a bit of rub between Cliftonville and Crusaders.

Historically, we did get the religious, political element.

North Belfast is a patchwork of Protestant and Catholic enclaves.

Where people live, often influences their football allegiances.

Because of its location in a Loyalist heartland,

Crusaders is perceived as a Protestant club.

Cliftonville Football Club is just a couple of miles away...

..but because it's located in a Nationalist heartland,

it's perceived as a Catholic club.

When the two go head-to-head,

fears of sectarian violence are never far away.

We hold this unenviable record, 1979,

of the biggest police attendance ever at any match in the UK.

When you had, I think, 2,100 police officers for 1,900 fans.

Crusaders and Cliftonville are, in fact, both cross-community clubs.

But tensions occasionally still mar the game.

ANGRY SHOUTING

In 2013, the derby had to be called off when Loyalist protesters blocked

the entrance to Seaview.

Make belief here, lads. Make belief.

Come on!

-Big, big focus.

-Do nothing, different, boys, from what we've been doing.

On the pitch, Catholic players at Crusaders can be a target for abuse.

# Sean O'Neill, you're a wanker, you're a wanker... #

"Sean O'Neill's a wanker."

That's a huge one.

Get a lot from Cliftonville men - "You're a sell-out bastard."

# Sean O'Neill, you're a wanker, you're a wanker. #

They have a go because, basically, I'm a Catholic,

playing for a Protestant team.

It's as simple as that. All it does

is drives me on to make sure we beat your team.

-Crusaders!

-RHYTHMIC STOMPING

Crusaders!

Crusaders!

North Belfast derbies tend to produce moments of magic.

Donnelly. Through to Daniel Hughes.

Lovely build up from Cliftonville and a finish to match!

They took the pee out of us!

And we couldn't even get close to them.

Take the game to this team, and sort it out!

Big 45, come on, big 45!

Picked up by Harkin, 3-0!

What a strike from Ruairi Harkin!

It's well into the second half, and Crusaders are losing 3-0.

Let's go.

Come on, Crues!

On that left foot!

CHEERING

Headed in, though, by Owens!

To Richard Clarke, angled across towards Owens,

who's found the net again!

CHEERING

We are in injury time.

Forsyth.

Into the middle, towards Beverland.

Spilled by the goalkeeper.

Still not away, and it's ended up in the back of the net!

Is there time for a winner?

Gavin White,

plenty in the danger area.

Spilled by the goalkeeper and followed up by David Cushley,

who looks to have won it for Crusaders!

The comeback is complete!

We put ourselves on the ropes here today, for an hour.

But nobody counted in the last half-hour.

And you boys today dug that out from somewhere,

because that's when character takes over.

That's when desire takes over.

That's when the want-to-win mentality kicks in.

Let's make sure we now bank that, and on to the next one.

But as for today. Get right into them!

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

ALL: # I try to discover

# A little something to make me sweeter

# Oh, baby, refrain

# From breaking my heart... #

Come on.

Finish strong.

Sean O'Neill has had a more unusual pathway into the Irish league than most.

A Catholic from the Falls Road in Belfast,

his first love was Gaelic football.

Fast 20, come on.

Sean still trains at the GAA club he joined when he was just six.

Soccer was never something I was really interested in.

Obviously, things have went a wee bit different for me.

Football's probably, you know, it's my bread and butter now.

You know, it's my main source of income, even though I work as well,

you know. It's something that I enjoy doing.

Obviously, I don't enjoy this part.

So this is the younger days - Gaelic football.

This is me as an under-ten.

And then, as an under-12,

where I had flowing locks, unlike today.

Good times. Really good times.

To be honest, I know this might sound so silly,

but I probably had never been in

any Protestant's company.

I was a Gaelic, my family was Gaelic, Gaelic, Gaelic.

There was no soccer.

Soccer was kind of, it was called the foreign sport.

I had Gaelic training, one day in school, and the soccer team had a game.

And the soccer goalkeeper went home sick

and they had no goalkeeper.

The soccer manager asked me - would I do nets?

And I just went into goal that day.

We won 2-0. Kind of done really well.

The team manager at the time, he was also manager at Green Island.

He asked me, "Do you fancy coming to play for Green Island?"

When I get here, when you take a left here at the end of the Green Island estate, I started to panic.

At the time, there was obviously the UVF, UDA flags

and you do think to yourself,

"Oh, God, what have I got myself into?"

Everyone was wearing Rangers' tops, and I'm

you know, training and I'm just going to myself,

"Oh, I don't believe this, I went for a Celtic top."

And when I was walking across, this coach, Starzy,

he goes like, "Oh, Celtic, you support Celtic. Good man."

It was just football.

Just get a wee stretch. Just whatever you feel.

Hamstrings, calves, quads.

It's something so silly, but it means a lot to me.

Catholic, Protestant, everyone's human at the end of the day.

Everyone's the same.

You know, it's another human being.

So what if he supports Rangers or he blesses himself?

Who cares?

You come to Crusaders and you're able to play football and

put the ball in the back of the net, that's much more important!

Good luck, Mitchie! Come on, mate.

YES!

Thanks very much, mate. Thank you, partner.

Skimmer? Shite, isn't it, mate?

Ha-ha!

Matthew Snoddy's ankle is recovering well.

He's back training with the team.

Finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Three midfielders on the bench in my position, you know,

it's not going to be easy to get back in the game again,

but I've just got to put the hard work in and hopefully get my chance and take it.

Then once you get in, it's up to you to keep hold of the shirt

and not let it go to anyone else.

Two weeks' time, I'll be back.

Crusaders top the league by five points.

They are still unbeaten.

Plenty of players in the middle!

And it's ended up in the back of the Ballymena net.

All-day-long, they're looking for the ball.

The goalkeeper mis-kicks it.

Jordan's missed the header... by a mile.

Going for Ballymena. Trying to get in behind!

Flip me!

Elementary, dear Watson!

Kane against O'Neill.

1-1.

Only a couple of minutes of normal time left.

Kyle Owens off in the back, it's towards him.

And he got a great head to it! It's ended up in the back of the net!

Kyle Owens!

And it's all over.

For the first time this season, Crusaders have been defeated.

-Very well played.

-Thank you very much indeed.

-Very well played, well done.

-Thank you so much.

Your team battled. Your team battled so well for you. Well done.

Today, we've seen a team who wanted it more.

They outfought you and outbattled you.

It's the first day we've let ourselves down.

Can I swap places with somebody in here today?

Cos I tell you what, retired 13 years from this game,

and I want to play more than anything else. But I can't play.

But I tell you what, I wish I was you,

and I wouldn't leave anything behind.

We need to get back to our fighting best.

The dream is, I think, from when you were, like, six,

when you're kicking a ball up against the wall, saying,

"I want to play. I want to be a professional footballer.

"I want to play for Manchester United." Every schoolboy's dream.

I remember going on trial at Nottingham Forest when I was 18.

And I remember playing at the City Ground, in Nottingham, going,

"This is where I'm meant to be."

Around that time,

I had a very stable relationship with a young girl from Belfast.

And I'm going, "This is the girl of my dreams, I'm going to marry her."

And then I had a bit of a crossroads' decision to make.

You know, will I really push this one,

or do I want to come home and settle down here?

And the girl won.

-What time is it?

-Quarter to one.

-Quarter to one.

So we've 45 minutes...

-For me to change my mind!

-Stop it!

I'm only joking!

Stephen Baxter went on to marry his girlfriend, Lydia,

and they had four children.

Today, their daughter, Rachel, is getting married.

I think watching all the videos of them when they won the league for

the first time and how emotional he was, I remember at the time thinking,

"If he doesn't cry at my wedding, I'll kill him!"

I wasn't frightened to shut the door on Nottingham Forest and really get

my Irish League career started.

But it's important not to lose sight of all the people who love you so much behind the scenes,

because they're going through it with you, albeit in a different way.

Who gives this woman to be married to this man?

I do.

Just stand... And kiss.

Will you join with me in a prayer of blessing?

Let us pray. In the name...

My whole life

is my family, football and God.

Amen. Amen.

The world looks in at Christianity in all walks of life, and goes,

"They're a rare people.

"What are they all about?"

When really, for me, it's the other way around.

I look at the world saying, "You don't know what you're missing."

And that's a good ball for Stephen Baxter.

What a goal! What a strike by Baxter!

I became a Christian when I was 19.

Years later and I was coming to play football

for Crusaders Football Club

and there was 12 Christians at the football club.

CHEERING

So we got labelled the God Squad, because we went on this great run.

Stephen Baxter made his name as a top Irish League player in the 1990s.

He and his Christian team-mates helped Crusaders win the league twice.

Glenn Hunter. A chance to cross.

Finally gets it over. Baxter could be in for a third!

And he is!

A football environment wasn't seen as a Christian environment and that myth,

I felt, was blown away at that moment.

And it nearly became an acceptable norm,

because here's all these Christian footballers who were doing something amazing.

Baxter.

Oh, it could be in the top corner!

# Jesus, Lord... #

Crusaders are still known for their Christian ethos.

A quarter of the dressing room have connections with the evangelical churches which pepper North Belfast.

-We only want you sort of ten minutes, is that OK, max?

-Aye, ten minutes is all right.

OK.

# The name of Jesus... #

Howard Beverland boosted the Christian numbers at Crusaders when he signed this season.

Kit man Frankie Weir has invited him to share his story at

the evangelical church where he's a pastor.

# The name of Jesus... #

APPLAUSE

Tonight, I want to just take this opportunity,

and I've been told ten minutes by Frankie, he's really strict,

so I'm just going to get stuck in here.

Erm, tonight, I just want to share my testimony

about what God has done in my life.

Sometimes, it's about taking on a new challenge, and that's what it was for me.

Moving away from a club where I'd been for nine, ten years,

and moving to a new team who were the league champions

and stepping out of your comfort zone.

With that comes seeking, "Well, God, what's your plans here, OK?

"If I say I'm a Christian and I've laid my life down and I've taken my

"hands off the wheel, so to speak, Lord, what do you want?"

And for me, very quickly, there was a peace.

Being a Christian and being a footballer,

I feel that it gives me such a great sense of freedom to go out

and to work hard. And, hopefully,

win lots of trophies and league titles and cups that comes with that.

But yet, at the same time, to impact an environment for Jesus.

Part of my role there

is to go out and play as part of a team and mix in

and get to know them and build up friendships

and be part of the family.

Oh, mate, that's very harsh there, very harsh!

Of course, I'd love it if all of them said to me, "Well, you know, what do you believe in?"

Or, "How can I believe in what you believe and live my life for Jesus?"

And that hasn't happened... yet - being the keyword.

But, yeah, that would be absolutely amazing.

Oh!

Whoa!

Crusaders are about to play one of the biggest games of the season.

Ha-ha-ha!

Five months in,

Matthew Snoddy has yet to make the starting line-up.

Hopefully, I can be in the manager's thoughts.

You know, it'll be gutting, like, if I didn't make the squad,

I'm not going to lie. You know, I would be absolutely gutted.

THEY BLOW

A wee bit harder, go!

One... Both of us blow together!

One, two, three...

-Ah! Yay!

-Yeah!

It was always working towards today, for me.

Because these are the head-to-head games that decide who wins championships.

The team that rises to the occasion in the big games

are the teams that go on and do it.

Nobody beats us here.

Nobody.

Nobody!

Matthew has failed to make the squad.

It's just, I didn't want all midfielders on the bench today.

That's when you're coming back.

So don't be worrying about it, everything'll be grand for you. OK?

I was coming, in my head, thinking I was in the squad.

I thought, to be honest, definitely I'd be on the bench.

I disagree with it,

but that's the manager's decision and I've just got to respect it.

FANS CHANTING

Crusaders top the league by seven points.

So far, the only team they haven't managed to beat at least once

is Linfield.

They're determined to break the stalemate.

-COMMENTATOR:

-Crusaders - top of the table,

seven points clear of second-placed Linfield.

It could be a festive cracker.

And away we go.

Burns. It's a good ball in. Oh, it's off the bar!

Go on!

Oh, the ball falls to Aaron Burns.

Aaron Burns still going.

Aaron Burns - he is still going, and how!

It's pathetic! Absolutely pathetic!

We look scared.

Wants his keeper to come. Oh, it's a terrible mistake!

Summed up by the calamity goal.

Have a bit of confidence in who you are and what you do!

Oh!

Gavin Whyte. Oh, it's a good ball in.

It's a very good ball!

Now it is squeaky-bum time.

Heatley.

Now, if anybody lifts hands, they could be in trouble.

There's a yellow card for Sean O'Neill.

And there's a red card for Jamie Mulgrew.

And it's over.

And there's absolute joy and delight from the Linfield fans.

The Linfield defeat is a crushing blow.

As the New Year begins,

Crusaders are still four points clear at the top of the league.

Faith is believing in something that you can't see.

Can I see another title?

I have faith to believe it,

but I can't see it right now because we haven't got there yet.

We'll not short-change anybody

and we'll never let anybody down cos we'll always give our best.

You know, the successes we're talking about now

is winning leagues.

A few years ago, the success was still being alive, you know,

when things were really bad.

Success was still being there, still having the gates open.

In 2005, Crusaders was on the brink of relegation from the Premiership

for the first time in its history.

Stephen Baxter, whose playing career had come to an end,

stepped in as a first-time manager for the last few games.

It's dead simple for me - I'd walk over broken glass for them.

So, if that's what it needed to do,

I'll come and do it, I'm here to help.

Crusaders took on Glenavon...

..in a decisive relegation battle.

Our life was on the line and we lost.

Absolutely gutting.

It was a real gloomy day.

The rain was coming down

and I remember coming in to our ground, just absolutely in tears.

Didn't leave the house that whole weekend.

I really had a fear for the future.

Relegation meant much-needed Premiership funds

disappeared overnight.

The club was heading for financial meltdown.

Basically, we had debts, at that time, to HMRC.

We had a big debt to the rates.

And we'd debt to the bank, we'd debt to the brewery.

Probably 600-700,000 debt.

The club managed to repay most of what it owed,

but it was still £120,000 short.

Our situation was, if this goes under,

this is going to affect the lives of 200 kids.

It's going to affect the lives of hundreds of supporters.

This... There's no way back.

It won't, you know...

There is no sugar daddy coming in here.

In desperation, the club turned to its fans

and pleaded with them to lend money out of their own pockets -

with no guarantee of getting it back.

I went down to see what was in my Post Office account,

to see if I could afford it,

but I managed to scrape it together at the time.

At the age of 26, Chris Wilson handed over his life savings.

It was £500.

But the satisfaction that £500 has actually given me...

..erm, to see the club really, really take off and grow...

Two League Championships,

an All-Ireland Championship, an Irish Cup.

See, when you look back at that night against Glenavon in 2005,

when we got relegated, you could not have dreamt that.

This season, more than 12 years later,

Crusaders finally repaid the last of the 50 supporters

who saved it from bankruptcy.

So our first guest, Philip, Philip Hamilton.

Philip here? Ah, there he is!

Well done, fella.

It gave me great satisfaction just to think that my small gesture

was able to be part of that.

My sincere thanks go to one and all.

Erm, to me, youse are the heroes of this club.

So, everything is good, we're chasing down our third title.

Whether we win the title, or don't win the title, in my eyes,

we're the biggest success story in the league.

It sits very proudly on my mantelpiece, so it does.

Pride of place.

There's a baby boom at Crusaders.

Sean O'Neill is one of six players about to become a father.

This is where the baby's going to sleep.

I'm laughing, my luggage is sitting packed ready to go.

Sean was having anxiety that I hadn't got it packed,

-so he made me pack...

-No, no!

No. No.

I have anxiety about these bags.

He says he's not carrying them!

She's expecting me to carry this stuff to he hospital.

Look at this! Look at it!

Imagine me walking into the hospital going, "Here's...

"Here's your bag. Ah, dead on!"

Some chance! And...

It gets better cos...

there's actually two of them! Not one, two!

There's not a hope in hell!

One for me and one for the baby.

-Her mummy...

-My mummy!

..is carrying these in.

I'm going to take two weeks, but in terms of football...

Oh, football.

-There's no break there.

-No.

There's times when you do get fed up listening about it.

Do you know, like, last Saturday...

Oh, last Saturday.

After the Cliftonville game.

Where I was kind of hounded on social media.

He was made out to be the villain, and it's annoying.

I got really upset about it, but he was like, "Will you wise up?"

But it upsets me.

But that's...rivalry. That's football rivalry for you.

-When one of them come to take a corner...

-That's the beautiful game.

-They're all going mad.

-That's what makes it so...

-He loves it.

-That's what you want to play in.

He's buzzing. See, on a Cliftonville morning or a Linfield,

he's really up for it, like.

You need a measuring tape.

OK, so...

-You can't just start drilling holes.

-No, I can't.

-Do you want it here?

-Yeah, I think there's OK, isn't it?

Do you definitely want it there? Yeah, no, that's OK.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, that.

-No, no, no...

-No, no, it's fine there.

No, it's OK there.

It's in.

Yeah.

Oh... You're not leaving it a bit slanty.

I tell you what...

-Is it slanty?

-Yes, it's slanty. Of course it's slanty!

Oh, Sean! Yeah, it's OK, yeah.

-Jesus.

-It's good, good, good.

See, wee things like that, wouldn't it be nice?

That would be lovely, love.

Aye. At the end of this, you find a pot of gold.

-Rainbow.

-Yeah.

Ah, good lad!

-Tommy...

-Hilfiger?

-No.

-Aaah!

It's February, and Crusaders are a comfortable nine points clear

at the top of the table.

-Carrick...

-Rangers?

Yeah. And they were a group of people who are fighting,

all different colours. A kids' TV programme.

Oh! He knows!

-He comes at Christmas and leaves presents.

-Power Rangers?

LAUGHTER

They're about to take on Dungannon, but Sean O'Neill is missing.

His partner, Niamh, has gone into labour.

Am I OK with it? I am most definitely not OK with it.

She could have had the baby two days ago and given us a wee bit of a break,

but it has to be done. This is a huge day in his life, so...

The stakes for Crusaders are huge.

As they enter the last third of the season,

they need to keep winning to stay ahead of Linfield,

who have emerged as their biggest title threat.

All of a sudden, Linfield are getting the press in.

We know how to beat them.

Crusaders, we are physical, and we've outfought them,

and we know what we are about and all this, here.

Make no mistake about it,

every single team, at this moment in time, is gunning for you.

Goal! Come on!

It's three points on the road to the next one.

Crusaders are nine points clear at the top of the league.

The title is within sight.

We came here to win the league.

This is another building block.

Put them under pressure. The pressure fucking kills people.

Ah, he didn't need to!

Lads, lads, lads, lads.

Listen!

That was an embarrassment of a performance from us.

Linfield are coming to get you.

You can either wilt under the pressure of all of this,

or you're going to rise up.

Crusaders lead has dropped by two points.

They can take nothing for granted.

It's inside of us, inside our heart.

We want the game more than them. Come on!

Crusaders players not given any kind of time on the ball.

What are we doing here?

Coleraine have certainly looked the more threatening so far.

It's not good enough!

Bradley had peeled away at the back...

And it is adjudged that Beverland handled the ball,

and it's going to be a penalty for the home side.

It's Owen Bradley who's going to take the spot kick,

and he slots it past Sean O'Neill.

A good foot up the fucking hole, that's what we need!

Get your fucking act together, that's including myself!

We all need to fucking pull together here.

We've a four-point gap, and see next week,

we've the chance to go and pull it back to seven.

But it's about fucking balls.

Stevie said about heart, it's heart and balls.

I'm telling you now, lads.

I'd say, at the minute, we've no fucking balls.

There's now just four points separating Crusaders and Linfield.

The toughest test of the season is just days away.

I'm re-emphasising right now -

no alcohol this week.

None. Teetotal this week.

A bite to eat tonight, bed early.

And...your beds as well. Keep the energy in the legs all week.

If you win this game of football, the league is over. I promise you.

-Yeah.

-I promise you.

But we need to be mentally,

mentally switched on to this whole game, now.

Billy Joe Burns has made a mistake with a back pass,

and he's allowed Waterworth in...

The body language of the Crusaders' players maybe telling its own story.

Made its way to Burns...

Oh, it's crashed off the goalposts!

Oh, that's casual, kid.

The delivery not the best, but it falls for Burns.

He can't get it under control.

Still with Burns!

And there's the goal.

In seven weeks, Crusaders' lead has dropped dramatically,

from nine points to just one.

We were hopeless.

Shocking. As low a performance as I have ever seen, and I feel let down.

We were nine points clear going to Portadown,

and we haven't played from that match.

You've got to sort it out. You've got to sort it out.

We've three weeks, boys, to win a league title.

You're one point ahead.

One point!

Three weeks.

Three weeks to get a response.

But Crusaders' dream is still within reach.

If they win the next four games,

they win the league for the third time in a row.

If you lose that hunger...

If somebody says to me, "Ah, Linfield are getting stronger

"and they'll maybe push away from us,"

then you've lost the bottle.

Once you think you've dropped off the peg a little bit,

Cliftonville's your example.

Two titles, fell apart.

Club fell apart.

We have stood up for the last two or three years and shown determination,

we've shown focus, we've shown attitude, we've shown everything.

We have come a million miles down the track.

This is the biggest charge for the line that I ever imagined.

-Morning.

-Morning. How are we?

-Here's your wee run today.

-That's just your...your normal run.

-Good man. A handy one, I hope.

-Yep.

For you, yep.

As semi-professionals, Irish League players are paid a salary,

but only on a part-time basis.

Most supplement their income with day jobs.

-This is the heart of Linfield territory, isn't it?

-Yep.

-Enemy lines.

Enemy lines, we're crossing.

I should really be wearing a hat or something to disguise me.

-We're down this one here, Snoddy?

-Yes, there.

There we are, Paul. Theatre of dreams.

-Yep.

-Where all the magic happens.

-That's it.

-It happens in there.

-Good memories and bad memories.

-Yep.

It's eight and a half months since Matthew Snoddy was injured.

He's yet to make the starting line-up.

The lowest point would have been the point

when I didn't make the squad against Linfield.

That was the end of the world for me.

And I was thinking, I'm just a reject.

The injury came at a time when he was struggling with his personal life.

I had a really, really bad gambling addiction.

I would have went to the bookmakers and stood from nine o'clock in the

morning to nine o'clock at night.

It drove me to the point where...

..I considered suicide, almost, like.

I remember going up the hill on the estate, and crying my eyes out.

I had lost big amounts of money that day, and I had no money to my name.

I was standing on top of a hill and I went,

"You jump off here, this is it.

"You don't need to... There's no worries any more, that's it all done. It's gone."

And see when I was just standing there, my phone went.

I pulled the phone out of my pocket,

and it was a picture of my son on the phone. My screensaver.

And I just felt so much guilt. I was going, "What are you doing up here?

"Are you serious? You have a son now.

I says, "How selfish are you, standing here doing this,

"even considering this?"

Matthew considered suicide two weeks

before the injury that has blighted his entire season.

I remember actually going, "I am trying to sort myself out."

I remember in my head going, "Who is doing this to me?

"There's 22 players out on that pitch.

"Why did that have to happen to me?"

But little did I know that it was all for a reason, and all for a cause.

I didn't know this.

Matthew has just become a born-again Christian.

It took God to remove football out of my life, for me to go looking for him.

From now, I've been saved.

I can say now that I have a hope.

You can't describe the peace of heart you get when you become a Christian.

I'll be honest, the first couple of days, I was shy on telling everybody.

I think it would have been tough just if Howard hadn't been there.

He's been a real breath of fresh air to me.

He just always says the right things.

God's put him in my path for a reason, to help me along the way.

God's give him me now, to be a brother just as much as to him as what he is to me.

Football was my God, but now I've got a God who...

I can't describe what he does for you.

He just gives you ultimate fulfilment in your heart.

And knowing that he has a plan for you...

I believe I have a purpose here,

and I'm not going to shy away from telling God's good news.

Thank you very much. Thanks.

APPLAUSE

I still have a passion to play football, yes, I do.

I just keep my faith with God and...

..he'll do the work.

It's the penultimate week of the season.

12 Irish League clubs are jostling for their final place in the Premiership,

and the title is still up for grabs.

Owens has found space... Oh!

Crusaders have maintained their one-point lead ahead of Linfield.

If they win today and Linfield lose against Coleraine, they win the league.

1-0, Linfield are getting beat.

McLaughlin.

And the word is starting to filter through the ground that

Coleraine may well have taken the lead against Linfield.

Stay calm, stay calm.

Suddenly, there's fight from the champions.

Free kick against Hateley.

1-1. Ah, Aaron. One each.

Still free... Driven across goal,

and Ballymena have taken the lead!

How big a goal could that be in the race for the title?

What's the score?

3-1, Linfield. Have a go. Give me two goals.

Ballymena struggling a little bit here.

Pinned very, very deep in their own half.

Very risky from Sean O'Neill. Too risky from Sean O'Neill.

What a mistake from him as Cathair Friel makes it two.

And things have just gone from bad to worse for Crusaders.

At many stages throughout the season, it looked like

Crusaders had this league wrapped up.

Mick Murray's onside, has Friel in the middle.

Cathair Friel... Will he make it three? Yes, he will!

CHEERING

With one game to go, Linfield have taken the lead.

I was annoyed for 24 hours,

then I went from feeling sorry for myself and down about it for you guys,

to then sort of going...

"Rrr, right, come on, let's prepare for the next game."

The title is all but out of Crusaders' control.

But there's one tiny glimmer of hope,

and it all rests with derby rivals Cliftonville.

The only thing that we can control, is what we do.

We owe this...

..to them fans

that have supported us all year,

everywhere we have went.

I want to see a performance better than any performance that we have

given over the whole season...

..because we owe it to them.

To have any chance of winning the league,

Crusaders must beat Glenavon today,

but Cliftonville must also defeat Linfield.

The final battle lines are drawn.

I want you to remember back to the opening day of the season,

in a Charity Shield game that didn't mean an awful lot.

They fought you

like they were playing a cup final or the league decider, to beat you.

Absolutely horrendous what happened that day, and I haven't forgot it.

We've played 37 games of football, and today is the end of the road.

But I'm asking for more, because you just never know.

In football, you just never know.

SUPPORTERS CHANT

We're underway at Seaview. Lovely pass.

And Crusaders...

..have opened the scoring.

Come on!

Important that they got off to a good start today, if they are to

have any chance of winning the title.

-Oh, I think they scored!

-What?

-Yes!

INDISTINCT

The early news of Cliftonville going ahead,

has raised the volume of the crowd here at Seaview.

Come on, lift the gears again here.

Come on!

There is the second goal.

The Crusaders are very much keeping up their end of the bargain.

Get up!

Carvill wants it more, he's got in and he's got his second.

As things stand, Crusaders would be top of the table.

Focus on our game, that's all we can do.

Not interested in Linfield now, not interested one bit.

COMMENTARY

One each.

It's gone very quiet here,

perhaps because news is filtering through that Linfield have equalised,

which means, as things stand,

they would finish on top of the table.

2-1? 2-1, Linfield?

Well, we gave it our best.

His players have done him proud today,

but Linfield's performance at Solitude looks set to wrap up the title.

Just before the final whistle,

Matthew Snoddy finally gets his chance to shine.

And there is a sixth for Crusaders.

Matthew Snoddy.

Matthew scores Crusaders' very last goal of the season.

But Crusaders has lost the league to Linfield by two points.

Well, it was disappointing in the end,

but when you look at where we've come from,

them players gave everything,

so they certainly didn't let me down.

The fan base is always, for me, what it's all about.

Playing's brilliant, but you're playing to give them happiness.

To see them smile.

We'll get it next time. We'll get it next time.

-Look at this.

-Wa-hey.

If life was perfect, there would be no character-building,

there would be no learning.

You use the disappointments of having not won the league, to spur on a greater hunger.

Howard Beverland has been named Crusaders' Player of the Year.

Part of God's plan, that he has for me, was Crusaders,

and I've been assured of that.

For me, it's looking back and saying, "Well, I'm well able for this."

This season, I am grateful for all the pain and suffering I went through,

because now I have the life experience to go out and hopefully inspire a lot of people.

So, we lost the league. You know,

this group of players are strong enough to come back and put things right next year.

We fell a little bit short.

A hair short.

That'll not happen again because see next year,

we're coming back bigger and stronger.

Raise a glass and say "Congratulations, everybody, what a great year."

Thank you, thank you.

No surrender.

If you have faith, then you can achieve your dreams.

Keep the faith, don't lose it.

The good times outweigh the bad times, that's what it's all about.

It's worth it.

HE SIGHS