Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
THINKER WATSON
Albert’s head tells him Blues & Crues will still be teams to beat despite Larne’s impressive start
LARNE’S Albert Watson says it’s premature to talk up the Inver Park club as title contenders and insists Linfield and Crusaders are firm favourites to lift the Gibson Cup next May.
Tiernan Lynch’s men sit level at the top of the Premiership alongside David Healy ’s Blu es and are th e only remaining unbeaten team this season.
They boast six wins from six in all competitions, including a dominant 4-1 victory over 10-man Linfield in the Shield semi-finals on Tuesday night.
That midweek stroll delivered a first final in 15 years for the East Antrim club and cemented the he belief that Larne are equipped d to challenge the big guns in the months ahead.
But Watson, who won the double with Linfield in 2012, said: “We’ve had a decent start rt but that’s all it is, we’re not getting too far ahead of ourselves.
“Anybody that f ini sh e s ab ov e Linfield and Crusaders will be doing really well this season, they’re the two teams to beat.”
Amateur mind games as Larne, backed by online mogul Kenny Bruce, bid to fly under the title radar?
Not so, according to Watson, ahead of today’s trip to The Oval.
“I’m just being honest and I’m not playing it down,” said the experienced defender, who has also played in Canada with FC Edmonton and with KR in Iceland. “When you look at their squads, how long their players have been together and their experience, both Linfield and Crusaders will be hard to beat.
“They’ve also won silverware in recent years so you can’t look past those two clubs. Are they the favourites? Of course they are.”
With Coleraine, Cliftonville and this evening’s opponents Glentoran, who beat the Reds in the Shield semis midweek, also in the top six mix, Watson knows tough tests lie ahead.
“It’s a really competitive league,” he said said. “You’ve got the likes of Clif Cliftonville who play some b brilliant football and have J Joe Gormley and Coleraine w who beat the Glens last w weekend.
“It’s still very early days a and we need to have a rea real intensity about us every week.” ”
Larne have an array of match winners at their disposal including the mercurial Marty Donnelly and striker Davy Mcdaid who has scored four goals in his last two games.
Mcdaid (inset) pounced for two goals in two minutes in last week’s 2-0 win over Ballymena and bagged a brace in the Shield midweek.
“Davy ’s up there with the best strikers in the league,” said Watson. “I train with him every day so I know how good he is. He’s so dynamic and, if you give him a chance, he’ll score.”