Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
PURFECT TIMING PREM DIVISION
Stopper Hagan says return of their ace goalscorer can drive East on to silverware
DEAN Haggan reckons the return of Danny Purkis can give East Belfast the edge this season in the race for Amateur League honours.
The prolific frontman officially returned to the club yesterday after securing his release from Glenavon. Despite proving himself a big hit for the Lurgan Blues, where he finished the club’s top goalscorer in the Irish Premiership last season, Purkis turned his back on the Irish League for personal reasons, with the East gleefully welcoming back a man who had 46 goals by Christmas before joining up with Gary Hamilton’s men back in the winter of 2019.
Countless players have dropped from the Irish League down into the Amateur League over the years, some of them coming to the end of their tether, some having failed to really make the best of their chance at a higher level.
Neither applies to Purkis. He’s not coming back as damaged goods, or with his legs tiring from too many miles on the clock.
At 26, he’s coming back even better than when he left, and for Haggan, that changes everything.
“We haven’t been killing teams off but we have Danny back now in a couple of weeks and he’ll rattle them in,” said Haggan (35).
“In the five or six years I’m there, this is the strongest team we have had even without Danny, and now he’s back, obviously that makes us stronger again, he’s going to take us to the next level.
“And the wee man (Dean) Annett we brought in, he’s starting to find his feet as well, he’s starting to find the tent and he scored a peach on Saturday there.”
Haggan, back in goal for East Belfast after damaging ligaments in an Irish Cup game at Tobermore back in August, believes the club can end their long 27year top flight drought this season, despite the challenge posed by Crumlin Star who avenged their league defeat earlier in the season with a 4-0 Border Cup drubbing last month.
“I think we’ll win the league, 100 per cent,” he said.
“The Star rattled us in the cup there, they were like a team possessed against us, we didn’t show up, too many passengers and they were out for a bit of revenge. They were different level, super, and Bricky (Barry Mckervey) was super, so Star will be there too.
“But the league is our bread and butter, we’re confident we can do it.”
The Intermediate Cup aside -- the East kick off their campaign with a home tie against Orangefield on October 16 -- the league is all the East have left now after they crashed out of the Steel Cup in a penalty shoot-out at Bangor on Saturday.
“We just haven’t had the rub of it with penalties, that’s two we’ve lost already this season and I can’t remember the last time we won one,” added
Haggan.
“There were stages of the game where we missed big chances, at 1-0 up we could have gone 2-0 up and I think it would have killed them to be honest.
“They got a lucky break, they were going route one to big (Ben) Arthurs, runners off him, it was flicked on and he got in, it was a soft goal, a soft equaliser to give away.”
We haven’t been killing teams off but we have Danny back now in a couple of weeks and he’ll rattle them in.