Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
CHRIS SHERRARD BEST TWO BARR NONE
By Johnny up front on potential of his new strikers
JOHNNY LAW has hailed his Portstewart side’s new-found goal threat as they target a big finish to the campaign.
Recent additions Zach Barr and Tommy Elder continued their fine introduction to life at Mullaghacall at the weekend to send the Seahawks into the quarter-finals of the Match Intermediate Cup.
From scoring four goals in five games in a disappointing December which yielded just one win, they’ve now won the past three outings with an aggregate margin of 7-0.
And the mood in the camp has never been higher such as been the impact of the new boys.
“Zach Barr and Tommy Elder have been absolutely magnificent for us,” Law told Match On Tuesday.
“I had Tommy when he was a young lad at Glebe Rangers so I know all about his quality.
“He’s a goalscorer and there is an art in that.
“If you can score goals, if you know where the net is, then you will score no matter what level you’re at.
“That’s five games now Tommy has played for us and we’ve won them all.
“He’s scored in four of those games and in the other one he was superb.
“He has drive, attitude and application and has come to us with a real hunger and I’ve no doubt he has the ability to play even higher.
“Having goals in the side again makes such a big difference. We’re going into games confident of scoring now. We’re lucky to have Tommy and Zach and, to be honest, a lot of this squad because there are boys here who should be playing in the Irish League.
“What they have here is an unbelievable comradery – I have seen some team spirits in the game but this is right up there considering what the club has come through.
“And I have to say, JP Mcquillan has been absolutely outstanding with helping get a lot of these players in to the club.
“We’ve had horrendous luck with injuries – four knee ligament injuries, Ryan Doherty has wrecked his back, Luke Mcdowell needs an operation, Luke Bradley is only back now, Matthew Tumilson has missed seven months – but the boys have coped magnificently.
“Every one of them has stood up and been counted which is all I can ever ask for.”
Last night’s draw paired the Seahawks with Newbuildings United in the quarter-finals of the Match Intermediate Cup.
That game sees Law continue his bid to add another medal from the competition to the haul accrued in a glittering playing career.
And he’s pointed to the determination of his players to secure silverware, not silver coins, as a potentially crucial factor.
Law added: “The Intermediate Cup is a competition I won three times as a player – once with Portstewart and twice with Limavady. When people stop you and talk about your playing days, they’re not asking, ‘How much did clubs pay you?’, they want to know, ‘What did you win?’
“Those sides I was in that won the Intermediate Cup, none of the boys were paid a penny.
“That’s the exact same as this group of players we have at Portstewart now.
“They have a determination to win things and progress the club.
“The Intermediate Cup is such a great competition, if you can’t win the league this is the one you want to win.
“No matter who we were drawn to play, it’s the quarter-finals so it will be a 50/50 game.”
Portstewart got to that quarter-final b y virtue of a 2-0 home win over Ballynahinch Olympic at the weekend.
With Barr and Elder again on the scoresheet, the Amateur League side left the north coast empty-handed.
But Law was full of praise for the defeated Premier Division outfit. He said: “I’ve been absolutely delighted with our boys’ response since Christmas.
“Amateur League sides are very often as good as teams in our own league.
“I knew Ballynahinch would be a very tough opponent and they were. “I was very impressed with them from the start to the finish.
“They will probably feel aggrieved at the result because on another day they could well have taken something from the game.
“We had to be on our guard all game and we managed to hit them on the break and get the win which I was delighted with.
“We’re getting hard games every single week, no matter whether it’s the league or the cup. “There’s no let-up at all and so we were well prepared for Saturday’s game.”