Irish League Football

Image source, Pacemaker Press

Saturday's Women's Challenge Cup final has been postponed because of an amber weather warning.

The match at Windsor Park has been rearranged for Tuesday, 27 October at 19:45 GMT.

Premiership winners Cliftonville are aiming to win their third Challenge Cup final in a row, while Glentoran are hoping to finish the season on a high after a disappointing league campaign.

The postponement follows a weather warning being issued for parts of Northern Ireland on Saturday night with strong winds of up to 75mph expected.

Meanwhile, a yellow Met Office weather warning will be in place across Northern Ireland from 10:00 BST on Saturday until 12:00 GMT on Sunday.

"The decision has been taken in the interests of the safety of players, officials, supporters and everyone involved in the staging of the match, given the forecast adverse weather conditions," a statement from the Irish Football Association read.

"The final will now take place at the Clearer Twist National Stadium at Windsor Park on Tuesday 27 October at 7:45pm. All tickets purchased will remain valid for the rescheduled match.

"The Irish FA thanks both clubs and supporters for their understanding and apologises for any inconvenience caused by the postponement."

The final game of the women's season will be broadcast live on BBC iPlayer, the BBC Sport app and website.

Image source, Pacemaker Press

Glentoran will host Larne in the second round of the BetMcLean Cup in one of two all-Irish Premiership ties.

The game will be played on either 24 or 25 November, the same week that the beaten finalists of the past two seasons welcome the Inver Reds to the Oval in an Irish Premiership fixture on 27 November.

Holders Linfield will travel to the Blanchflower Stadium to play Niall Currie's Harland & Wolff Welders.

Elsewhere, Dungannon Swifts will face Coleraine, while Warrenpoint Town will aim to overcome their second Premiership team of the competition when they host Cliftonville.

Limavady United have been drawn against Rathfriland Rangers with Carrick Rangers to face Glenavon.

Moyola Park host Ballymena United and, in the only all-Championship tie, Loughgall play Queen's University

The winners of this season's trophy will book their spot in the European play-off final in May and a chance to secure European football.

BetMcLean round two draw - ties to be played on Tuesday 24 November and Wednesday 25 November (19:45 GMT)

Limavady United v Rathfriland Rangers

Glentoran v Larne

Warrenpoint Town v Cliftonville

Dungannon Swifts v Coleraine

H&W Welders v Linfield

Carrick Rangers v Glenavon

Moyola Park v Ballymena United

Loughgall v Queen's University

Image source, Inpho

Northern Ireland Football League CEO Gerard Lawlor has said member clubs "cannot continue doing the same things" after falling to 51st in Uefa's association coefficient rankings.

Iberia 1999's 1-1 draw at home to Mjallby in the Uefa Conference League on Thursday night moved Georgia's domestic league up the standings, dropping Northern Ireland out of the crucial top 50.

While NIFL have said that their "final position remains subject to UEFA's rankings and access arrangements", as it stands that would mean the Irish Premiership will have only three European spots in the 2028-29 season.

Currently the Irish Premiership's top two and Irish Cup winners automatically qualify for the next season's Uefa competitions, while the league's final spot is decided by an end-of-season play-off.

Lawlor called the expected loss of a European spot "a major concern and a potentially significant setback" for the game in Northern Ireland.

"The reality is that we are now facing the very real prospect of having just three clubs competing in Europe rather than four," he said.

"European football provides vital opportunities for our clubs, players and supporters, alongside important financial investment that benefits the wider game.

"While we have witnessed some excellent individual European performances, collectively we must acknowledge that our results have not been good enough."

Places in the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League are allocated on the basis of a five-year performance ranking.

This season, Glentoran, Linfield and Coleraine all fell at the first hurdle, while Larne squandered a two-goal aggregate advantage to lose to Lincoln Red Imps when 90 minutes away from the league phase of Conference League.

Poor showings in Europe are one factor in the ongoing debate over so-called summer football in the Irish Premiership, with 75% of NIFL's 38 member clubs required to vote in favour of a calendar change.

"We cannot continue doing the same things, in the same way, and expect different outcomes," said Lawlor.

"This reinforces why NIFL has been challenging clubs to think differently about their future, including seasonality, investment, player development and how we create a more competitive domestic environment.

"We must ask whether our current structures give clubs the best possible opportunity to succeed in Europe. We need to stop measuring ourselves solely against each other domestically and start measuring ourselves against European standards."

Image source, Inpho

Championship Warrenpoint Town produced a stunning extra-time performance to beat Irish Premiership side Crusaders 5-2 in the BetMcLean Cup at Milltown.

Rory Powell opened the scoring for the hosts five minutes before the break with a powerful strike from 25 yards, and Crusaders forward Thomas Maguire was then sent off for an off the ball incident after the restart.

Despite being a man down, Declan Caddell's side rallied and Donal Rocks equalised on the hour-mark before Adam Reid put the Crues in front.

But there was late drama when Powell powered home the leveller with nine minutes remaining to send the game to extra time.

Powell completed his hat-trick three minutes after the restart with a header before Daire Trainor and Adetobi Jinadu secured the win.

Cliftonville, Dungannon Swifts, Limavady United were among the sides who won their first-round ties on Tuesday.

The draw for the second round takes place on Friday at 16:30 BST when Larne, Coleraine, Glentoran and holders Linfield enter the competition.