I’ve had a tough time but now I’m savouring it all: Stewart
LINFIELD: Carroll, Robinson, Callacher, Waterworth (O’Connor 76), Cooper (Clarke 71), Stewart, Millar, Fallon, Mulgrew (Mitchell 67), Quinn, Casement. Unused subs: Deane, Forde, Garrett, Reynolds. CRUSADERS: Doherty, McChrystal (Ruddy 65), Coates, Ward, Carvill, Caddell, Forsythe, Owens (Burns 46), Snoddy (Lowry 46), Heatley, Clarke. Unused subs: O’Neill, Cushley, Holden, Thompson.
Referee: Andrew Davey.
Man of the match: Jordan Stewart
Match rating: 9/10 JORDAN Stewart has admitted that he is playing with a smile on his face again.
That smile turned into a beaming grin under the Windsor Park floodlights on Saturday when the 23-year-old hit a goal of genuine quality to top off a Linfield performance that had champions written all over it.
David Healy’s boys produced a performance of pace, power and passion, complemented by a huge dollop of skill with Stewart the tormentor in chief.
The result sent Stephen Baxter’s Danske Bank Premiership champions crashing to their seventh defeat of the campaign, which has now reached the halfway point. It’s a long way back for the Shore Road boys.
Goals from Joel Cooper, Jimmy Callacher and Josh Robinson had the international arena bouncing, but it was Stewart’s fantastic individual effort that really set the place alight — reminiscent of the great George Best.
Having picked up a pass from Cooper, Stewart danced past Michael Carvill, eased away from Sean Ward, waltzed around goalkeeper Harry Doherty and stroked the ball past Colin Coates on the line. Sensational.
Not bad for a boy who looked to be on his way out of Windsor Park earlier in the season when he was put on the transfer list at his own request.
“I’ve waited a long time to get my opportunity, so I wanted to grab it,” said Stewart. “I was due a goal at Windsor Park, but maybe not one of that quality.
“The boys have been giving me a bit of stick in training for not shooting enough. Maybe after that one, they’ll get off my back.
“I just wanted to get back to enjoying my football again — I wanted to start playing with a smile on my face. I’ve realised over the past few years that a footballer’s career can be very short. Hopefully, I can now get a run of games in the side.
“My game has always been based on work rate and effort, then the bits and pieces (the trickery and flair) come after that. I probably wasn’t doing that as much as I should have, and it affected my performances.
“Things can change from day to day in football. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a run of games. I’m just happy to be in the team. We have a great bunch of lads and it hurts when you are not playing.
“They were doing well at the start of the year and I wanted to be a part of it.”
It’s been well documented that Stewart has struggled with fitness and consistency since joining the Blues from Swindon Town back in May 2017, but he is hoping that heartache is now over.
“I’ve had a tough time,” he added. “I’ve been bothered by a lot of niggling injuries and, when I did recover, I just couldn’t get into the side.
“I maybe lost my way a little bit when I came back from England. I discussed the situation at length with the boss, but I was eventually put on the transfer list.