Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
LYNDON LOVES GOOD FORTUNE
Boss wants more goals from his forwards
LYNDON KANE believes Coleraine team-mate Stephen Lowry should open a fortune teller’s stall on the North Coast after predicting his shock derby winner at Ballymena United.
Kane was the unlikeliest of heroes when he sealed a midweek 1-0 win over the Sky Blues with only his second league goal for the club.
His only previous top flight strike came all of six years ago against Carrick Rangers.
“Stevie said to me before the game, ‘I think you’re going to score tonight’,” chuckled Kane. “I didn’t see it coming myself but he was right.
“I took a shot in the warm-up and I never do that because my shooting is atrocious and sub keeper Martin Gallagher said to me, ‘What are you doing shooting?’.
“So when I came in after the game I was able to say, ‘That’s why I was shooting!’. I knew the moment I connected with it, it was going in. I caught it sweet. It’s just a shame it was behind closed doors and not a full house for a normal derby because I don’t score too often.”
Kane’s second half bullet made it nine games unbeaten for Coleraine who are suddenly back in title contention.
Oran Kearney’s men are now level with third-placed Crusaders and only eight points off leaders Linfield who welcome the Bannsiders to Windsor Park on Saturday night.
“This time three weeks ago we were nine or 10 points behind Crusaders and now we’re level with a game in hand,” said Kane, who turned 24 on Monday.
“Ballymena was a massive three points for us, especially after drawing with Cliftonville and Portadown in our previous two games.
“These are the games we need to turn up in because they’re the kind of results that get you to where you want to be.
“We gave ourselves a lot of ground to make up
v Manchester Utd
OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER has called on his Manchester United forwards to rediscover their scoring touch – starting in the Europa League tonight. Although United became the first Premier League side to hit 50 goals this season, in Sunday’s 1-1 draw at West Brom, Solskjaer conceded his forwards have not scored enough. Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford have just three goals each in their last 14 games, while Mason Greenwood has managed just one in the same spell. United are missing Edinson
Cavani, who has four goals in his last 14 games, for tonight’s Europa League last-32, first-leg tie against Real Sociedad in Turin.
There is unquestionably an over-reliance on Bruno Fernandes, with United’s playmaker plundering eight goals in his last 16 appearances.
And Solskjaer said: “We’ve scored the most in the League, but our centre-forwards or forwards haven’t scored as many as we’d like them to.
“We know, in the last four or five games, we haven’t been at our best, and we’re waiting for them to show what they’re showing in training.
“They’ve got the class and quality, maybe the form hasn’t been there.”
Greenwood signed a new contract until 2025 this week, with the option for an extra year, with United expecting big things of the 19-yearold forward. At this stage last season, he had 10 goals, but has just four from 29 appearances this time. But Solskjaer is confident Greenwood will rediscover the form that saw him notch 20 goals last season and prove United were right to hand him a second contract extension in 16 months.
“Mason can play No.10 as well as a shadow striker,” added Solskjaer. “He can play right, centre-forward, No.10 and, at a stretch, maybe on the left.
“We just have to give him time to find his final position. He’s a forward who moves really well along the line.”
United face a Sociedad side fifth in La Liga with Manchester City legend David Silva in their line-up. The Spaniard left the Etihad last summer.
Remiro, Gorosabel, Le Normand, Elustondo, Monreal, Zubeldia, Merino, Silva, Januzaj, Isak, Oyarzabal
MANCHESTER UNITED: Henderson, Wan-bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw, Fred, Mctominay, Rashford, Fernandes, Martial, Greenwood
REAL SOCIEDAD: