Fraser wants chance to halt Bens’ win run
WHAT is looking like coming first? Christmas or an end to Benburb’s unbeaten run of Championship games spanning 13 outings to their 3-1 defeat at the hands of Rutherglen Glencairn in an early August league opener.
Well, their nearest chasers and as fate would have it their next opponents are the Ru’Glonians, with the two clubs set to lock horns in what promises to be an epic New Tinto Park clash on Saturday.
One or two chastening lapses, the latest a 1-1 draw at home to Neilston last weekend, has left the Glens at more than an arm’s length, four points in fact, adrift of Govan’s finest so the prospect of the gap between the title rivals widening even further is not being entertained in the visiting camp.
So says Glens veteran skipper and midfielder Tony Fraser, an integral figure in the early-season victory over the Bens who was nonetheless impressed by the promoted side’s performance.
He recalled: “That result could quite easily have gone the other way but for our goalkeeper Gary Whyte pulling off some terrific saves in the game at our place.
“I said afterwards that Benburb could emerge as one of the teams to watch, however never in a million years did I expect them to go on the remarkable run they have.
“I’ve heard one or two comments describing them as a long ball team but they didn’t play in that style against us and anyway if that is the case then why should Lovers [Bens boss Paul Lovering] change things when his team are doing so well?”
Fraser, if selected, will be just four games short of 250 Glencairn appearances on Saturday, and he is determined to come off the pitch on the winning side.
He admitted: “I would be first to admit we have come off the boil and are not firing on all cylinders but I see signs, like the mood and effort of the guys in training this week , that we are getting our mojo back.
“We just never clicked last week against Neilston and deservedly came up short but now we have the boost of Jordan Leyden, Gary Smith and Kris Gebbie on the verge of playing comebacks after long spells out.
“The squad of players when everyone is fit is as good as anything in this league.”