Glentoran successfully built momentum from last Friday’s success at Windsor by securing a semi-final place in the Toal’s County Antrim Shield. A dominant performance providing more encouraging signs that this Glentoran side is beginning to gel at a vital time.
Declan Devine mostly opted for continuity in a strong starting line-up. The only changes from Friday were Mills in for Gyollai in goal, and Finlay Thorndike starting ahead of Palmer in the midfield.
The Glens started brightly, clearly keen to build momentum in the fixture. A wave of early chances ensued; Singleton and Fisher would both flash first-time shots past the post within the first five minutes. Equally, a great individual piece of skill from Thorndike sent Donnelly through on goal, but his shot fizzed just wide.
However, the home side weren’t frustrated for long, with Jay Donnelly opening the scoring in the nineteenth minute. After an initial shot from David Fisher was saved, Danny Amos retrieved the ball and flashed a ball across the box. Our number nine was there to emphatically slot home, much to the appreciation of the Oval faithful.
Glentoran never looked likely to slip from this position throughout the remainder of the first half. Indeed, the home side created multiple set-piece corner opportunities before the break, one of which Hvid was unlucky to see a header well saved.
As the teams headed up the tunnel, one would be forgiven for asking: how only 1-0?
Half time: Glentoran 1-0 Carrick Rangers
Declan Devine had clearly demanded similar standards during the half time team talk, as the home side continued to fire after the break. Excellent pressure from James Singleton straight from kick off ensured time and space for Danny Amos, who was unlucky to see a long range piledriver fizz just over the crossbar.
However, for all of the dominance from the home side, chances would eventually ensue for Carrick. A classic counter-attacking move from a Glentoran corner in the 51st minute would only come to nothing for the away side due to a lack of clinical edge. Shortly after, Sule would divert a shot off the line to keep the home side’s clean sheet intact. Carrick would continue the momentum with ex-Glenman Seanan Clucas hitting a speculative long-range shot over the crossbar just after the hour.
Perhaps these chances provided motivation for the home side to provide the finishing touch to an otherwise wholly dominant display. Declan Devine may well have thought the same, replacing Fisher for Jordan Jenkins for the final twenty minutes to inject fresh legs into the contest.
It proved to be an inspiring tactical substitution, with JJ applying the vital touch in the 76th minute to end the tie as a contest. There were flashbacks from Friday’s Windsor Park performance in this goal; Singleton applying pressure to hurry defenders, Finlay Thorndike robbing the ball deep in opposition territory, before feeding JJ who made no mistake with an immaculate finish from the edge of the box.
With the result secure, Dylan Connolly, Jay Donnelly, and Finlay Thorndike all left the field of play to be replaced by Lindsay, Wass, and Parfitt respectively for the final ten minutes.
As the final whistle sounded, the Glens faithful rose to acknowledge a performance which solidified important momentum in the season. With a County Antrim Shield semi-final place secure, we can now look forward to an important game against Dungannon Swifts in the league on Saturday.
Full Time: Glentoran 2-0 Carrick Rangers
Photography by ADAM HARWOOD
Glentoran: Mills, Kane (c), Amos, Hvid, McClean (Lyons-Foster 88), Sule, Singleton, Thorndike (Parfitt 88), Connolly (Lindsay 82), Fisher (Jenkins 72), and Donnelly (Wassim 88)
Subs (Not used): Gyollai, Murphy.