IRISH LEAGUE: Roesiders have Sport & Leisure Swifts double

Limavady United have a NIFL Premier Intermediate double header coming up against Sport & Leisure Swifts, as they travel there this Saturday (KO 3pm), before hosting them next Tuesday night (KO 8pm).
Limavady United player manager Paul Owens.Limavady United player manager Paul Owens.
Limavady United player manager Paul Owens.

Swifts find themselves bottom of the table, four points below Queens although they do have a game in hand over the teams ahead of them.

In their 16 games they have scored just 17 times but have conceded double that at the other end.

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Despite this however it was at this ground last season that United came undone when they went down to a heavy defeat.

Since this happened United player boss Paul Owens knows that it won’t be easy for his side this time round either.

“That’s always a difficult venue to go to, we have found that out over the past few seasons down there,” he said.

“We will have a few players missing through suspension, Hugh (Carlin) and Decky (McKeever).

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“As I said after the match against Distillery this will give a few other players a chance of game time. We have enough quality in our squad that I have no concerns over the players that will come into the team.”

With his team playing the same team within the space of four days, Owens feels that it’s not an ideal situation.

“At the moment we aren’t even looking at next Tuesday, all that we are worrying about is getting three points this weekend,” he said.

“However we will be looking to freshen things up a bit for the second game because we don’t want them getting used to things. I’m sure that they will try something different too, depending on how the game goes this weekend.

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“We will assess things after the weekend, but as I said all I’m looking at now is getting three points this weekend.”

United are without the suspended duo for tomorrow’s game, although both will be available for next Tuesday evening’s encounter.

Meanwhile Owens heaped praise on his whole squad after last Saturday’s emphatic 5-0 win over Lisburn Distillery.

The ex-Coleraine man now wants his players to maintain this level of performance.

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“We got an early second half goal that really gave us the momentum that we needed to kick on,” he added.

“We played some absolutely beautiful football at times, created loads of chances and could have scored more goals. The goals we did score were fantastic; the moves that lead to the goals were really good to watch

“This win just keeps things ticking over nicely, something that we will be looking to continue over the coming weeks.”

With this victory extending their advantage over Newry City to six points, Owens in just happy to keep the good run going.

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“The run that we are on at the moment is great, that’s seven league wins in a row now after last weekend,” he added.

“I think that since we took over at the club that this is the best run that we have had in the league.

“We have built up a real momentum over the past few weeks but the most important thing is the confidence we now have.

“I know that the strikers will take all the plaudits for the goals that they have scored and rightly so. However the midfield was superb, but not just that, the whole team was superb, from back to front.”

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Despite the fact that the strikers tend to earn all the praise for the goals they score, Owens picked out a few others as well.

“Wellsy (Paul Wells) has now five clean sheets in the league as well, something he prides himself on,” he added.

“Credit to Ray Kelly as well as he pushes Wellsy every week, he certainly keeps him on his toes.

“The two subs that came on, Conor Logue and Conor Harkin, both of them played superbly when called upon. They really made a big difference when they came on and they deserve plenty of praise for that.

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“Even at the final whistle you could see them having a go because they were really keen to make an impact.

“However I’ve said to the players it’s a squad game and the whole squad will be used over the coming weeks,” he concluded.

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