Brave Glebe lose out in relegation dogfight

Glebe Rangers lost out in their relegation dogfight on Saturday – but boss Gary Scott is confident he can ensure survival.

Glebe slumped to last place in the league after a heavy 3-0 defeat to fellow strugglers Banbridge Town.

Rangers now lie three points behind Town and are five points from safety in the Belfast Telegraph Championship One.

However Scott still believes he is the man to turn Glebe’s troubled season around.

He said: “I’m very disappointed that we didn’t perform anywhere near our ability in this game to be quite honest.

“We need to get to back to basics and back to effort.”

Rangers’ relegation scrap against Banbridge was dealt a cruel blow in the second half when keeper Matthew McGraw was sent off.

Glebe had earlier suffered more bad luck on the half-hour mark when a deflected free-kick opened the scoring for the hosts at Crystal Park.

Glebe had hoped to stage a comeback after the interval but the dismissal gave them a near-impossible task.

The sending-off was another stroke of bad luck that Scott believes is continually going against his side.

He said: “A few intangible things are going against us – a few players missing, and no decisions are going our way.

“The sending off in the second half affected our ability to get back in the game. But the bottom line is maybe I should have reacted differently in hindsight.”

After the red card was brandished by the referee, striker Nigel Turner was sent into nets and performed admirably.

However he couldn’t keep out two further strikes from the home side as Glebe bravely battled with 10 men.

Rangers now face another relegation tussle this Saturday when they travel away to Limavady United.

Limavady have also endured a difficult campaign and sit on 10 points in 12th, just above Glebe and Banbridge in the two relegation spots.

But Scott insisted he is the still the man to steer Glebe out of troubled waters and is looking forward to Saturday’s clash.

He added: “I’ve backed myself to be able to drive on the players, improve them and our season.

“There’s no doubt we will get results.

“People ask if I’m under pressure but I’m not under any.

“I don’t worry about these things – I’ve confidence in my ability to turn it around.”