Friday 7th October 2022
Kick Off 7.45pm
Back to the Danske Bank Premiership tomorrow night as sixth placed Carrick Rangers visit the Bet McLean Oval.
Having been tipped by many to struggle this season, Carrick Rangers find themselves comfortably in mid table after collecting thirteen points from their opening eight games; a run which has included impressive home wins over both Linfield & Crusaders.
While manager Stuart King will be smarting from Tuesday nights heavy League Cup defeat at Cliftonville - a game in which he made 6 changes from the side that overcame the Crues in their last league fixture - he will be hoping to inspire his side to a first league win at the Oval since second half goals from Lee Chapman and Eamonn McAllister in April 2018 secured a 2-1 win during Ronnie McFall's spell as Caretaker Managers time as manager.
King is likely to restore most of those rested on Tuesday to his line-up for this game, which would mean one ex Glentoran goalkeeper replacing another if Ross Glendinning takes his place back from Aaron Hogg. It would also mean Steven Gordon and Lloyd Anderson returning to midfield and Curtis Allen and Emmett McGuckin renewing their strike partnership that has yielded a 7-goal combined haul from the first eight matches. Glentoran supporters will need no reminder of Allen’s scoring prowess; having scored 110 times in his prolific 7-year spell at the Oval.
Mick McDermott: “On Tuesday v Warrenpoint we played some really good football, created multiple chances and scored a few great goals. Credit goes to the players for carrying out a professional performance to get us into the next round.
My staff have worked tirelessly all season to instil our way of playing - in attack and defence - and it looks like we have witnessed some really good cohesion within the team. Was also nice to score from a few set-pieces; another area where we have dedicated more time this season. Also I’m delighted that twelve different players have scored for us in only nine matches so far. It’s important not to be relying on too few players to score over the course of a season. The players take full credit for taking the ideas on board and responding so effectively to them..
Tonight we have another chance to play at the Bet McLean Oval against a Carrick Rangers team who have been performing really well and picking up impressive results against some of the better teams in the league. We have every respect for them and we know we must maintain our standards and keep pushing for improvements week-on-week if we are to achieve our goals for the club.
We have pretty much a full squad available to choose from apart from Seanan Clucas who is recovering from a chronic groin issue. …..we know we have more to give.”
