Crowe on a mission to bring an end to the Glens’ trophy wait
VERSATILE Joe Crowe insists Glentoran must avoid a second dose of disappointment in seven days in tonight’s BetMcLean League Cup third round clash against Coleraine at The Oval.
Although the east Belfast boys won for the first time in five outings against Ards at the weekend, they are still smarting after being dumped out of the County Antrim Shield following an extra-time defeat by Big Two rivals Linfield last week.
A trophy drought has been hovering over The Oval in recent years — their last success was an Irish Cup win under Eddie Patterson’s managerial watch in 2015 — and it’s something Crowe wants to put right.
“The club hasn’t won anything for a long time,” said Crowe, who moved across town from Linfield in August. “We have a bit of work to do in the league — we’ve fallen off the pace a bit because of that run of defeats.
“So, we need to do well in the cup competitions. It was disappointing to be knocked out of the Shield at Windsor Park last week. To be honest, I thought we were the better team on the night.
“They (Linfield) never really cut us open. They won it in extra-time when we had a lot of tired legs.
“Basically they stuck away the one chance that fell to them. It was so frustrating because I thought we had done enough to win the game.
“The disappointment is still raw, so we must make sure we don’t go out of the League Cup this week.
“In saying that, trying to win any trophy is a big ask in this league — there are very fine margins between most of the teams.”
Crowe believes his team have the artillery to make things difficult for Rodney McAree’s (right) Bannsiders.
“It’s a massive game for us,” he said. “Coleraine have been blowing hot and cold.
“They were beaten again on Saturday, so hopefully we can pile on the agony. In saying that, I’m sure they’ll be looking for a response. “It’s important we keep our momentum going.”
Crowe has developed into the odd-job man at The Oval as he has operated in a number of positions. “I’ve settled in really well,” he said. “I’ve already played more games than I did in six months at Windsor.
“The lads have helped me settle in, they’ve made me welcome. I can’t thank the manager enough for backing me and supporting me.
“I don’t mind where I play as long as I can help make a contribution. I wanted to play in midfield, but we were short of defenders for the Linfield game, so I moved back there.
“I actually played centre-back when I was at Norwich City a few years back. I’ll just do whatever the boss wants me to do.”
Ronnie McFall’s side approach tonight’s showdown having bounced back to winning ways against Ards after a run of disappointing defeats.
Crowe added: “We scored four goals and got the win and a clean sheet against Ards, so it sets us up nicely for this game.
“It’s been a tough few weeks — results were not what we wanted.
“The early goal helped settle us down at the weekend. We actually killed the game in the first half with the two goals. Hopefully, we can kick on from that result.
“Glentoran is a big club, we’ve got to aim higher than a top-six place in the league table. A club like this must have sights set on a European place.
“The club is an institution — we have to aim as high as we can, so let’s hope we can hit our targets.”