Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
STUTE ARE STILL TO THE FOUR
KNOCKBREDA’S interim boss Lee Forsythe has called on his side to stay focused for their remaining three league games after their 7-0 victory over Lurgan Celtic.
The East Belfast outfit (above right) moved up to ninth in the standings and five points clear of second-from-bottom Dergview, who occupy the relegation play-off spot but who have a game in hand.
“Saturday was about getting over the line and whenever we opened the scoring, we started playing a lot more freely and clicked going forwards,” Forsythe told Match on Tuesday.
“We’d drawn our last two games against Lurgan Celtic so we knew we needed to get a comfortable lead and push home our advantage.
“I was over the moon to get the win as the situation at the foot of the table is so tight and every point counts. The result was very much secondary to ensuring the three points. Everybody expected us to win the match and it was probably the most pressure we have been under all season, because football does not work like that.
“We had to earn the right to play and we did that. For the first 35 minutes or so Lurgan battled really hard and had two great chances to take the lead, which could have turned the game.
“Our game management and attitude was excellent throughout, but we need to use this to build on.”
It carried on a recent improvement in form from Breda, who had drawn their previous four league games.
“We’ve played well over that run and the only disappointing thing has been not winning more of those matches,” Forsythe continued.
“Saturday was our first clean sheet in a long time too and whenever we were four or five goals up, we wanted to ensure we kept a clean sheet.
“Generally we have defended well but a few small individual errors have cost us and we have a young team, so maybe a little bit of inexperience has worked against us.
“A lot of time we have been punished late on in games and that’s been frustrating.”
It has been a topsy-turvy season for the club, who find themselves battling against relegation despite being early table-toppers with lots of new players brought in.
“Our lack of discipline cost us a lot of points this season,” the interim boss added.
“It was a problem from early on and Jeff Montgomery was fantastic in drumming that out of the side – we have conceded 13 penalties this season and have had nine red cards, which is huge. A few players ended up leaving the club over the issue and for about three months between October and January our squad and first-team was really unsettled because of a lack of bodies.
“Jeff brought in a lot of new players in January and it’s taken them a little while to settle but now we have more continuity and a settled team.”
Knockbreda have fielded 14 players aged 21 or younger this season, with an emphasis on youth evident.
“We know that there is now a platform to build on for next season should we remain in the division,” stated Forsythe.
“This club has shown that we will give chances to young players – look at Bobby Burns on loan from Glenavon last year, and Karl Hamill and Patrick Cafolla are two examples this season, on