Moan keen for star man Murray to be part of Town’s survival bid

WARRENPOINT Town captain Stephen Moan hopes the club can keep hold of star striker Darren Murray following the home win over Ballinamallard United.

Murray has been the subject of speculation since the opening of the transfer window, with the top two of Crusaders and Coleraine interested in the 10-goal forward, who played the full 90 minutes for Matthew Tipton’s side on Saturday, despite his girlfriend due to give birth to the couple’s first child.

While it was Conor McMenamin who popped up with the only goal of the game just before half-time, a foul on Murray midway through the second half saw Ballinamallard’s Ryan O’Reilly shown a straight red card by referee Keith Kennedy.

“As the manager has touched on recently, in the January transfer window it’s hard to keep boys focussed because if you have a good first half of the season, clubs are trying to take your players,” Moan (below) admits.

“Duzzle [Murray] is obviously an important player for us and we don’t want to see him go but, at the end of the day, it’s about himself as well. He’s a massive player for us so hopefully the club can keep a hold of him.

“If he does go, hopefully the club can bring in a replacement who’s as good as him.”

WARRENPOINT: Parr, Moan, O’Hara (Foster, 68 mins), Reilly, Dane, TJ Murray, Davidson (McGrandles, 78 mins), Mackle (McKenna, 90 mins), McMenamin, D Murray, Forde. Unused subs: Turker, Roohi. BALLINAMALLARD: Brush, Kerr, Mailey, O’Reilly, McLoughlin, Hutchinson (Clarke, 79 mins), Kee (Leddy, 41 mins), Noble, McGinty, Curran, O’Flynn (Smyth, 68 mins). Unused subs: McKenna, Armstrong.

Man of the match: Conor McMenamin Match rating: 6/10

Referee: Keith Kennedy (Lisburn)