DJ praises stars after close win

Havingflown out of the blocks and into a 2-0 lead, Slane were pegged back to 2-2 and Johnstone recognised the character it took to push on for the win.

“What pleased me most was that the senior players stood up to be counted when it mattered in the last 20 minutes,” he said.

“Whitten, Kerr, Ervine started to win big challenges, Harrison ran his legs off up top, a great finish by Quilty and an incredible performance by skipper Bingham in his first competitive game since March.

“It was really encouraging to see and hear the large home support and I am sure they went home happy.

“After last week what a superb effort by the players tonight in what was an excellent cup tie. I was impressed by Glenavon Reserves with their good passing and moving and make no mistake about they could mix it physically.

“We got two up and then got really sloppy conceding poor goals. They were on top and we were struggling to get a hold of the ball and had to defend deep and our back four did well to cope.”