ACE AKI ATONES

Benetton Connacht

17

19

BY JOHN FALLON CONNACHT assistant coach Nigel Carolan praised Bundee Aki for snatching victory in the final play in Treviso yesterday.

Connacht were in trouble when Aki coughed up a penalty in front of his own posts which Edoardo Padovani converted and looked set to give

Benetton their first win of the season. But Connacht hit back and Aki (above) won the first of two penalties to the right corner before he drove over for the winner in the dying moments to break Italian hearts.

“That’s Bundee all over. We felt we just needed a chance and I thought they displayed great composure to get the drive and win the game,” said

Dungannon Swifts Glentoran 5.30pm

v

MICK MCDERMOTT believes defensive durability has helped Glentoran edge ever closer to the title equation in the Premiership.

Tuesday night’s dramatic 1-0 win over derby rivals Linfield at Windsor Park delivered a fifth clean sheet in the Oval club’s last 10 outings.

Only five goals have been conceded in that time, while the last time they shipped more than one goal was in a 2-0 defeat at Crusaders on December 5.

Ahead of tonight’s trip to Dungannon Swifts, Mcdermott (above) said: “We’ve conceded the least number of goals in the league and that’s a big positive. I know stats don’t get you points, but it’s nice to see that we aren’t conceding chances, we aren’t conceding goals and we also get the ball back quickly.

“A lot of the stats are in our favour at the moment, but stats don’t get you goals and that’s something we’ll continue to work on.

“Dungannon will be a hard game but there’s no point picking up three points at Linfield if we don’t back it up this weekend.”

Elsewhere, Coleraine will bid to make it 12 games unbeaten in the league when they welcome Warrenpoint Town to the Showgrounds.

Tuesday night’s 2-0 win at Carrick Rangers edged Coleraine up to third.