Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
MAXIE SWAIN
BILLY Carson is adamant his beleaguered Bloomfield will turn the tide as soon as results catch up with performances.
The east Belfast men, currently sitting bottom of the pile in Division 1C, have endured a really tough opening to the new campaign, with just two draws to show from their efforts across their first seven league outings.
Carson insists the standings don’t come close to telling the full story, however, and their exploits in the cups would appear to back up his defiance.
Aquinas, who finished 32 points ahead of Bloomfield en route to romping to the title last season and who currently sit second in 1B, were knocked out of the Steel & Sons Cup at Houston Park, while Dunmurry Young Men, level on points with Aquinas in the division above, were thrashed 5-2 by Carson’s men in their own backyard.
The Bloomfield chief also points to other keenly contested cup ties against higher opposition, the likes of Irish League outfit Lisburn Distillery and Premier Division challengers Ballynahinch Olympic, as evidence his team belong at this level.
“I have no worries or qualms about the position we are in at this moment in time and no worries or qualms about getting out of that position,” declared the Bloomfield chief.
“Our position in the league is not a true reflection of where we are and how we’re playing.
“We beat Aquinas there the other week 2-0, went up to Dunmurry Young Men the week after and beat them 5-2, and then we played Lisburn Distillery in the Steel & Sons and held them for 77 minutes, we played as good as them, but they just had a bit more quality and fitness and they ended up beating us 3-0.
“And then the following week, we played Ballynahinch Olympic who are undefeated in the Premier, and we gave them a helluva game as well.”
It’s often said when you are down around the bottom, things tend to go against you and Carson agrees.
Summer signing Michael Bowers has yet to feature after breaking his ankle in pre-season, while Jordan Stewart arrived with a six-game ban still to spend and then broke his toe once available.
So luck hasn’t been on their side, but far from resorting to excuses, Carson (above) vowed they will remain patient. “You can get into a rut, you start losing game after game after game,” he said.
“We thought we were going to be in the mix after signing five or six to add to the squad from the last couple of years.
“It hasn’t happened yet but we just want to get them all fit and like I said, we have no worries we can get out of this.
“We just need to get confidence back into the team and that’ll happen once we get our first win.
“We started the season with a few tough games, 4-1 up against Bangor Swifts and threw it away [ended 4-4]