Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
THE SHOWGROUNDS BLUES CAN LAY DOWN MARKER
Captain Mulgrew eyes all three points at Showgrounds to close the gap on league leaders to a single point
LINFIELD captain Jamie Mulgrew has urged the Blues to breathe life and fire into their season with a statement win at Coleraine.
The Bannsiders, who lie four points clear at the top of the Danske Bank Premiership, have been surprise pacesetters at the start of the campaign.
Mulgrew admits Linfield, who lost 3-2 to Cliftonville in their last league outing a fortnight ago, have yet to hit the heights of last season when they lifted a first league title in five years.
But the seasoned midfielder knows three points this afternoon would help light the blue touch paper and lay down a marker in the Gibson Cup race.
He’s also hoping to build on a recent 3-0 League Cup win over Ballinamallard United and last Saturday’s spirited 1-0 defeat to Dundee United in the Irn Bru Cup.
He said: “If we win at Coleraine, it would send out a message. To be honest, I would say we’ve been average so far this season and we haven’t hit top form or the heights of last year.
“I’ve no doubt we have the quality to take steps forward and if we want to kick on and mount a challenge, games like this are a chance to do that.
“Pyschologically, it would be a big boost for either Coleraine or ourselves to win. It would give them real belief and send them seven points clear of us.
“But we’ve taken confidence from our last two performances – last week’s defeat at Dundee United was the best we’ve played in a long time and we want to continue in that vein.” While Coleraine lost 3-0 to Linfield in last season’s Irish Cup final, Mulgrew suspects the hurt of defeat in the blue riband showpiece has spurred Oran Kearney’s men on this campaign.
He also believes a record of 18 wins and just two defeats in their last 25 league games dating back to New Year’s Eve is proof the Bannmen aren’t a flash in the pan.
He said: “Coleraine have reacted positively to losing the Irish Cup final and I think they have become a better, stronger team for that experience.
“The way they have played so far this campaign has been first class, but they have a lot of quality in the team and showed that last season.”
Mulgrew believes it’s a positive for the local game that a provincial giant like Coleraine is making forward strides.
Last year’s Ulster Footballer and NI Football Writers Player of the Year also suspects we’re in for one of the most intriguing title races in many years.
He said: “It’s going to be a real battle and I don’t think it’s going to be a two or three horse race. A lot of clubs are right up there. From a neutral point of view, it’s exciting.” U21s midweek.
“They also have Andrew Mitchell in attack – a player we were all chasing – so this is a new, young, bright Glenavon who are playing with a carefree mentality.
“They have a cavalier approach and we have to be aware of that threat, but at the same time we’re playing well ourselves and we’re confident we can do the business.”
Crusaders beat Cove Rangers 3-0 in the Irn Bru Cup last week, while they produced an impressive 3-0 win over Glentoran at The Oval live on Sky in their last league outing 12 days ago.
Baxter added: “To score three goals without reply and win the game the way we did gave us a bit of confidence and we carried that into the Cove game.
“We have tough games coming up – we also play Linfield next Monday – but they’re tough for everyone and we’ll look forward to the challenge.”