Crues’ derby with Reds is always fiery, says Owens
CRUSADERS striker Jordan Owens accepts the ‘Big Two’ derby is the most eagerly awaited fixture in domestic football but he insists the north-Belfast showdown between his side and Cliftonville comes with a guarantee of its own special fireworks.
Glentoran boss Ronnie McFall told the Belfast Telegraph this week that the derby between the east Belfast side and Linfield remains the biggest fixture in Irish League football and the Sky Sports cameras will be at The Oval on Monday night to capture the atmosphere.
But before those old rivals go toe to toe, Crusaders and Cliftonville will clash at Seaview on Friday night in front of the BBC cameras.
That derby fixture has given added spice because of the poor start to the season by the champions, who are nine points behind leaders Glenavon.
Both sides tasted victory at the weekend but Barry Gray’s men can pull four points clear of their neighbours with a win. While the Blues and Glens have served up many famous, passionate battles, Crues frontman Owens believes the north Belfast derby has its own explosive edge.
“When I was coming through at Crusaders, Linfield and Glentoran matches were always the biggest and I suppose they still are in terms of support but the Reds and ourselves have won league titles and other trophies so the north Belfast derbies have taken on another dimension,” said Owens.
“The Big Two games always attract big crowds but the atmosphere at the north Belfast derbies has also got a lot better in recent seasons.
“The Friday night game is a must win one for us which gives it added spice. They are always great occasions and we will do everything we can to try and win it.
“Cliftonville have quality throughout their team. I know they have been inconsistent this season but they are a team that can hurt you. It is always a tough game and they have played well at Seaview recently.”
A lacklustre start to the campaign dented confidence at Seaview but Saturday’s 4-1 victory over Institute at the Brandywell has lifted morale.
And the Shore Road men believe they have the class and
character to fight their way back into the title race.
“You don’t want to get too far behind but it helps when other teams don’t always win and we will look after ourselves in the sense of putting points on the board quickly because come Christmas time you don’t want to be nine points behind teams and that’s when there’s a danger you could drift away,” added Owens.
“Hopefully we put together a run of wins now and there’s a long way to go so we can still get ourselves back in contention.
“We have big games in the next few weeks and the Christmas time is always busy.
“We have been playing well below the standards we set for ourselves but hopefully this victory will give us the confidence boost needed to kick on and get results. It’s been tough, you can put it down to last season’s success of winning the league and County Antrim Shield and everyone expects us to do as well.
“Football doesn’t work like that, teams try harder against us and it’s just a confidence boost
we needed. It was a good performance against Institute and the boys are looking forward to Friday night.”
• NORTHERN Ireland Under-19 women kicked off a week of Women’s U19 Championship qualifying action with a 7-1 victory over Estonia last night.
Debutante Kaia Deane opened the scoring at Shamrock Park, where Alexandra Collighan (2), captain Megan Bell, Kelsie Burrows, Louise McDaniel and substitute Kaitlyn Canavan also found the net.