Marcus Kane admitted scoring on his 500th league appearance made Glentoran’s 2-0 victory over Ballymena United an especially memorable one.

The captain headed home Aaron McEneff’s corner in stoppage time to complete a hard-earned win at The Showgrounds after McEneff had opened the scoring from the penalty spot nine minutes from time.

Kane was proud to reach a significant personal milestone but insisted securing all three points was the most important part of the night.

“It means I’m getting old, I suppose,” he joked.

“No, it’s a good milestone in my career and to top it off with a goal is a bit special.

“It was great to get the three points in the bag and celebrate the goal with the fans. It was special to see such a positive reaction after last week as well.”

Glentoran travelled to Ballymena determined to respond following the previous weekend’s Big Two defeat at Windsor Park.

Kane revealed the disappointment of that result had remained with the players throughout the week and felt their second-half display demonstrated the response they had demanded from themselves.

“We spoke all week about getting a reaction,” he said.

“There had been a bit of a mood in the camp because we knew we didn’t perform to our best at Windsor Park.

“I thought that, especially in the second half, we left everything out there. We could probably have scored three or four in the end.”

The Glens were made to work for the victory by a competitive Ballymena side, with the hosts proving difficult to overcome during a closely contested opening 45 minutes.

Devine’s side improved after the interval, however, and Kane believes there was plenty to take from the way they finished the game.

“It was a proper Irish League game,” he added.

“They were physical, they put the ball up towards their front line and battled for everything.

“We struggled in the first half, but I thought we were a lot better in the second.

“There were plenty of positives and we can take those into next week.”