10MATCH MCKEE HAS HIS GOAL IN SIGHT East Belfast striker aiming to break the 50 mark in a bid to put the breaks on Crumlin

DANNY Mckee insists East Belfast are up to the challenge of hunting down Crumlin Star in the title race after they opened their account with a win over Premier Division new boys Ballynahinch Olympic.

Mckee (right), who netted 49 times in all competitions last year, was back among the goals again on Saturday, grabbing a late double for the East after Stephen Cockcroft had drawn first blood midway through thesecond half.

Despite the 3-0 scoreline however, Mckee admits it was far from a comfortable afternoon’s work, with Liam Sloan’s newly-promoted side matching the hosts for the first hour before the deadlock was finally broken.

It may not have been vintage East Belfast, but Mckee is adamant the three points is all that matters.

And with Crumlin Star sure to set the standard again this season, the former Glentoran hitman knows the importance of hitting the ground running to avoid handing the reigning Border Cup, Clarence Cup and Premier Division champions an early headstart.

“I had played against Ballynahinch for Abbey Villa so I knew what we were coming up against, they are just 07.08.2018 promoted and we knew it would be tough and that’s exactly how it turned out,” said Mckee.

“They were really super in the first half and made it really tough for us, we were arguing among each other because I don’t think the lads expected them to be as tough as they were.

“But I thought we came out a lot better in the second half after our team talk and with a few changes.

“And I knew as soon as we got the first goal, we’d go on and score more.”

Mckee hailed the influence of substitute Gary Mcdermott (circled, above) in Saturday’s victory.

The silky forward only put pen to paper for the East on Thursday night, but made an immediate impact, with his trickery and determination key to breaking down a stubbornolympic defence.

“Wee Gary Mcdermott came on and I thought he did superb for us,” added the 23-year-old striker.

“He changed the game for us, he came on left wing and I thought he was super.”

In their first season back in the Premier Division last term, the East proved themselves more than worthy of their place back among the big boys, leading the way at the summit for a large part of the season before eventually finishing third.

Analysing last season and what they need to improve to finish top of the pile this time, Mckee believes it’s imperative they start turning draws into wins.

“We’ve played Ballynahinch, and next Shankill, then the Steel & Sons, and then away to Drumaness, so it’s a tough enough start,” said Mckee.

“But the only thing we have talked about is one game at a time, and for me, Crumlin Star are the team to beat.

“Looking at this season, obviously we need to win more games, and don’t drop silly points and make sure we get less draws.

“We had some stupid draws last year which killed us in the end, particularly the draws we had away to lower teams, without being disrespectful.

“But I think this year, with the experience we have of last year, we will be a lot better.

“And we beat Ballynahinch, a good team, 3-0 there on

Saturday and we still have five big players to come back into the squad.

“So it just goes to show the depth we have in the squad as well, no one is guaranteed their position this year.”

Meanwhile, on a personal front, Mckee says he’s set himself the challenge of surpassing his goals tally for last season –no mean feat considering he finished just one off 50.

“That’s the aim, to beat last season, and I’m confident I can do it, definitely, and anything over 50 will be a bonus,” he said.