Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland. The only real news was after the end of the season – Newry Town and Carrick Rangers were elected to join the professional league in the next season, increasing it from 12 to 14 teams. The wisdom of that was dubious – FC Bangor was last with 5 points! Yet, without relegation it did not matter at all how weak a team could be. As for how strong… there was no race for the title. Linfield had no rival.

Their 35th title after 15 wins, 5 ties and only 2 matches lost. 43-13 was their scoring record – very impressive defensively. The nearest opponent was 5 points behind.

Which was another club from Belfast – Glentoran. Not much of a rivalry in the championship, but the neighbours also met in the Cup final. The match ended 1-1 and a replay was scheduled. In it Glentoran prevailed 2-1.

The season ended very well for Glentoran – they were no match to Linfield in the long run, but managed to clinch the Cup, which was more than fine: it was their 10th and the first since 1972-73.