Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
MATT’S THE WAY I LIKE IT
Crues star is enjoying hunter role
MATTHEW SNODDY insists title-chasing Crusaders are relishing being the hunter and not the hunted.
A goal fest win at Glenavon on Saturday kept Stephen Baxter’s men six points off leaders Coleraine with a crucial game in hand approaching the busy festive period.
Coasting on the shoulder of the leaders contrasts sharply to last year when the Crues led from the front only to be reeled in by Linfield.
Snoddy, who bagged his third goal of the season at Mourneview, said: “I think last year the pressure of being first for so long took its toll, so sitting in second is actually a nice position to be.
“All we can do is keep ourselves in that group of four or five teams come the split and hopefully be in amongst it and have a chance of winning it.” A 14-game unbeaten run in all competitions – 13 wins and one draw – have Crusaders five points clear in second but Snoddy says it’s too early to be talking up a title charge.
A testing Christmas lies in wait with games against Ballymena United, Cliftonville and Linfield all lurking on the horizon. He said: “The table will only really take shape at the start of February. The Christmas fixtures are going to be huge. The top teams are all playing each other and they are six-pointers. The head-to-head games will be telling come the end of the season. That’s why the three points at Glenavon were massive.”
The Lurgan Blues led through an early Marc Griffin strike but goals from Snoddy, Billy Joe Burns and Gavin Whyte had the visitors in control by the halfhour. A Sammy Clingan penalty pulled it back to 3-2 before Paul Heatley restored the Crues’ two-goal cushion, with James Singleton adding a late goal for Glenavon. Snoddy was impressed how the Seaview men, whose last defeat was a 3-2 loss to Glenavon in October, dug out the points in a “feisty game”. He said: “You’re not going to play well every single week so sometimes you’ve got to dig in. Glenavon put it up to us a bit in the second half and you’ve got to stand tall and defend. It was about coming here and getting three points. We had to make sure our attitude was right.” Glenavon boss Gary Hamilton said: “If you look at clearcut chances over the 90 minutes, a draw would have been a fair result.” CRUSADERS have strengthened their squad with the signing of former Finn Harps midfielder Jonny Bonner.