Gers take nothing for granted after ‘Breda defeat to Celtic

While Carrick Rangers were in cruise control in a 5-1 home win against Dunloy, this weekend’s opposition, Knockbreda, slumped to defeat on their own patch.
Ryan Kane makes a run on goal during Carrick Rangers Intermediate Cup game against Dunloy. INCT 05-160-GRRyan Kane makes a run on goal during Carrick Rangers Intermediate Cup game against Dunloy. INCT 05-160-GR
Ryan Kane makes a run on goal during Carrick Rangers Intermediate Cup game against Dunloy. INCT 05-160-GR

But, warns Taylor’s Avenue boss Gary Haveron, you can tear those pages out of the form book and thrown them away.

“What happened in those Intermediate Cup ties will have absolutely no bearing on the league match this Saturday. We will have a totally different team and so will they, for one thing,” assured the Rangers chief.

“Knockbreda have signed six or seven players since the transfer window opened and I do think it’s a very safe bet that most, if not all, of those players would have been cup-tied and wouldn’t have been available for the game against Lurgan Celtic.

“But we have been enjoying a good run of results of late and we will be keen to carry that on, obviously, not least because these league points are a priceless commodity.

“They have a superb surface and we will be looking forward to utilising it to play the sort of football we want to provide for the supporters.

“But, of course, it will be a very tough game because the new signings are a real signal of their intention and this match will be a great opportunity for them to justify their decision to strengthen the squad.

“If we can secure the win, we will move above them in the table and that would be another step in the right direction.”

Haveron revealed that the Taylor’s Avenue pitch came close to failing an inspection for the visit of Dunloy.

“I wish to thank everybody who made it possible to get the ground in a fit state, including the council workers who did some work on it. The difficulty relates to a drainage problem we have had for some time,” he said.

“We have such a backlog (of fixtures), we couldn’t afford to have the game off and it only just passed the inspection.

“It’s still very heavy - even though you wouldn’t have guessed that as we played some very attractive football in the 5-1 victory over Dunloy.

“I made eight changes. Only Aaron Smyth, Aaron Traynor and Brian Neeson remained in the starting line-up from the Irish Cup win over Larne.

“It was great to be able to give starts to some players who have waited patiently, including 17-year-olds Michael McKenna and Danny Magill, who played the last half-hour.”

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