Ex-Rangers men McAlinden and Hill go head-to-head

Davy McAlinden’s Invermen were on the wrong end of a 4-1 Irish Cup defeat the last time the two sides met, while before that Ballyclare won 4-0 in the reverse league fixture.

“We have two difficult hurdles ahead of us in the space of a few days against established Championship 1 sides, starting with Larne on Friday evening,” said Hill.

“Inver Park has never been a happy hunting place for us, and they will be chomping at the bit to reverse two recent defeats at Dixon Park, so it won’t be easy.

“Davy McAlinden has signed well recently, and wins against Distillery and Limavady says it all,” he cautioned.

Former Gers skipper McAlinden said: “Ballyclare are hard to beat, as we found out when we went up there in the Irish Cup just after I took charge of the team and they hammered us 4-1, so we know what to expect.

“It will be a tough test for us, but I am happy with the way things are going and we are heading in the right direction in terms of the league, having three more welcome points on Saturday from the long trip to Dergview.”

Ballyclare had Chris Getty sent off in their 3-1 Intermediate Cup defeat to Armagh City while Larne’s Ross Black also saw red in the 2-1 win over Dergview.

Added McAlinden: “The old saying is that when one door closes another opens and that will be the case here in that a couple of players who haven’t recently had their chance to show what they can do will now be able to come into the team and stake a claim for a jersey.”