Glentoran have got to make chances count, warns frustrated Mcdermott
GLENTORAN boss Mick McDermott has urged his boys to be more ruthless in front of goal.
The east Belfast side missed the chance of moving into second place in the Danske Bank Premiership when pegged back by a gutsy Ballymena United at the Showgrounds in midweek.
Coasting to the finish line courtesy of a Seanan Clucas double — his first goals of the season — the Glens pressed the self-destruct button in the final 12 minutes.
Shay Mccartan breathed new life into the Sky Blues with a smart finish before referee Steven Gregg pointed to the spot when Sean Graham went down after colliding with Chris Gallagher. Mccartan stepped up to send Rory Brown the wrong way.
Mcdermott admits it was two points thrown away.
“All the work we do in training, the systems we play, counts for nothing if you don’t put the ball in the net,” he said. “We were by far the superior team, but sometimes in football you don’t get what you deserve.
“We were 2-0 up with the clock ticking down, we had chances to be out of sight. Every team in this league has a go at the end, trying to claw something back.
“We conceded a really poor goal for Mccartan’s first. We stood off him and let him shift the ball onto his left, it was poor.
“Then it was a harsh decision by the referee for the penalty. I think he was influenced by the shouts from the stand behind us.
“Yes, the player (Graham) got himself in front of Crickey (Gallagher), but he threw himself down. Watch it from any angle, there was no contact. But we should never have been in that predicament — they were points that got away from us.”
The Glens will look to get back on a winning track when they entertain Dean Shiels’ Dungannon Swifts at The Oval tomorrow.
“It’s still tight and really interesting,” added Mcdermott. “From second position to fifth in the table is really tight. Our target in midweek was to get up into second place.
“But we’ve got Dungannon Swifts on Saturday and Coleraine twice next week, there is a long way to go. We’ve played 28 games, we’ve 10 to go, so there are 30 points up for grabs.
“We must learn from the midweek disappointment. If a team throws something at you, there are two ways of dealing with it. You get your foot on the ball, keep it and play, which we are capable of doing, or you turn them around, get organised, stay compact and weather the storm.
“We lost our shape a little bit midway through the second half. We invited pressure on ourselves by trying to play, instead of putting the ball in their box.”