Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
’S WATERWORTH EIGHT IN GOALS
GOAL hero Andy Waterworth believes he needs to be more ruthless in front of goal after his demolition job on Carrick Rangers at Windsor Park on Saturday.
The talisman striker bagged a sensational hat-trick as Linfield got their Danske Bank Premiership title defence off to the best possible start.
There may have been merely 500 fans dotted throughout the international stadium, but they gave Waterworth the ovation he deserved at the finish.
Defender Jimmy Callacher also got in on the scoring stakes along with substitute Ryan Mcgivern.
Niall Currie’s Rangers did threaten to make a fist of it when lanky defender Caolan Loughran converted a first half spot kick – after Chris Johns had needlessly bundled over Alex Gawn – but when skipper Mark Surgenor was dismissed 10 minutes after the break for a high tackle on Conor Pepper, any hopes of a revival evaporated.
“I need to be a bit more ruthless . . . maybe have a bit more conviction in front of goal,” said Waterworth. “Over the past couple of games, I think I’ve been trying too hard to score goals. I was a little bit more patient against Carrick.
“When Nav (Nasseri) cut down the left from my third goal, I would usually have been busting to get into the six yard box, but I instead hung back and, when the ball came in, I tried to direct away Hoggie
(goalkeeper
Aaron Hogg) as much as I could.
“The first two goals were really well worked. Kirk
(Millar) and Conor
(Pepper) combined well down the right for both. Conor played the ball exactly where it needed to be for my second.
“The fans haven’t seen any action at Windsor for a long time, so we wanted to put on a bit of a show.
“I’m playing in a really good team and I get plenty of chances. There are four of us playing for that number nine position. I probably could have
RED & BURIED Another treble, this time in a 3-1 win at Solitude in April 2017 scored more because there were some good deliveries came in.
“With a little bit more conviction I could have come out with a few more. I’ll not be too hard on myself.”
Although the result was never in doubt, Waterworth reckons there is still a lot to come from David Healy’s side.
Waterworth added: “We are good when we keep the ball and play through the thirds. Carrick are tough to play against, but we gave them the chance to grow into the game.
“We worked hard to establish the early lead and, I don’t know whether a few of us switched off or not.
“It’s something we must rectify going forward. We can’t afford to do that because teams will hurt us. “There is no question, we became complacent once we went two goals up. We were not picking up second balls and they began to hurt us, so that’s a lesson.
“To be fair to the boys, there was a good reaction in the second half. It was a good professional performance.”
Just as they did in the midweek Shield tie against the same opponents, the Blues got off to a dream start, scoring after only three minutes. In an eye-catching move involving Navid Nasseri, Kirk Millar and Conor Pepper, the former Glentoran man picked out the lurking Waterworth and he fizzed the ball into the bottom corner.
The talisman striker was at it again 10 minutes later. Millar sent Pepper roaring into the box with a peach of a defence splitting pass and when the little defender spotted Waterworth free only six yards out, the outcome was inevitable.
Strangely, the Blues went off the boil after that and Carrick were gifted a surprise lifeline on 25 minutes when goalkeeper Chris Johns needlessly hauled down Alex Gawn and referee Tony Clarke had no hesitation in awarding a penalty kick.
Loughran stepped up to confidently send Johns the wrong way from the spot.
Healy’s team almost struck again just on the half-hour when Jimmy Callacher met an in-swinging corner kick from Niall Quinn, but his bullet
TAKE IT AS RED Cliftonville on the end of another three, this time at Windsor in November 2018 header was magnificently pawed away by Aaron Hogg.
Then, just before the interval the impressive Millar threaded a pass into the path of Kyle Mcclean, whose wicked low drive flashed inches past.
But Carrick’s chances of salvaging a result went down the tubes when Surgenor was dismissed on 55 minutes following a challenge on Pepper.
The Blues took full advantage. From the resulting Quinn free kick, Callacher trapped in from practically on the line.
Quinn was then the provider for the f ourth goal , headed i n by Mcgivern, who was only on the pitch a matter of seconds.
Waterworth then brought the biggest cheer of the day when he expertly guided home a Nasseri cross with the flick of his head. LINFIELD: Johns, Haughey, Callacher, Waterworth, Stewart Millar, Nassen (kearns 76 mins), Mcclean, Mulgrew (Hery 76 mins) Pepper (Mcgivern 76 mins), Quinn. Unused subs; Moore, Larkin, Shelvin, Doyle. CARRICK RANGERS: Hogg, Neale, S u rg e n o r, Ro d g e r s, L o u g h ra n , Chapman, Frazer (Glendinning 58 mins), Kelly, Gibson, Gawne (Smith 36 mins), Gordon, Anderson. Unused subs; Mckinty, Fearon, Ferin.