Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
BIG THREE FOR JOEL
LINFIELD winger Joel Cooper hopes three is a magic number in today’s Boxing Day showdown with rivals Glentoran at Windsor Park.
Cooper, who joined the Blues from Glenavon in the summer, has enjoyed a return of two wins from two so far against the Glens this season.
He starred in a 1-0 league win at The Oval back in October, then two weeks later he helped the Blues to a 2-1 victory in the last eight of the County Antrim Shield.
Ahead of the traditional Boxing Day derby, Cooper said: “It’s the biggest game on the calendar and I’m really buzzing for it.
“I’ve already tasted Big Two games this season and I’ve good memories of them. We won both games, although the Shield tie required extratime to get over the line.
“We have to be in the right frame of mind and I know it will be tough, but I think we can cause Glentoran problems. Hopefully we can get a good result.”
Linfield, who drew 0-0 with third placed Glenavon at Windsor on Saturday, lie second in the table, four points off surprise leaders Ballymena United.
David Healy’s men are in the midst of a testing festive schedule, with a tough trip to Cliftonville also lying in wait on Saturday.
Cooper said: “We’re in the middle of a tough run and the festive fixtures are always important, but there’s still a long way to go in the title race.
“There are still a lot of games to play, but we know it’s important to get a win after drawing at the weekend. It would be nice to bounce back with three points, especially for our fans.
“We possibly need to be a bit sharper going forward and zip the ball about better and be a bit sharper in the final third, but we’ll go into the game with confidence.”
With their Friday night fixture at Newry City called off after the match officials were caught up in a serious traffic accident, Glentoran travel to Windsor without a game in 18 days.
Cooper said: “That could work both ways.
“They could be fresh and ready to go, or they could be leggy.
“But we are not concerned about them – we must look after ourselves.”