McCloskey: We showed great desire to fight back for draw

Carrick new boy Conor McCloskey says Rangers showed great desire to fight back from 2-0 down to claim a point against Institute on Saturday.

The visitors blazed into the lead inside two minutes thanks to a Sean Roddy penalty. Ryan Semple made it 2-0 just 10 minutes later.

Rangers looked rusty in the first half-hour but new signing Correy Davidson gave them hope before the break when he scored on his competitive debut.

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Carrick created a bucket-load of chances in the second-half and when McCloskey levelled from the spot, 15 minutes from time it was just reward for their dominance.

They came agonisingly close to winning it. Rory McGilloway had the ball in the net with three minutes left on the clock, only to see it ruled out for offside.

“It would have been better if we had won the match, but to come back from 2-0 down to get a draw is better than no points at all,” said McCloskey.

“It was a tough game and the pitch wasn’t great but I know I’ve got a lot more to give. But, in a game like that, you’ve just got to work as hard as you can and do the best you can but, hopefully, I’ll put in better performances throughout the season.

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“We were disappointed with the way we started and we had our chances in the second-half - we could have scored about five. We showed great desire to fight back from 2-0 down.”

The 20-year-old said he had no hesitation when it came to hitting his penalty.

“The boys were giving me a bit of banter before the match because we were asked who would like to take them and my arm went up straight away,” he revealed. “I was confident about it. I would never shy away from taking a penalty and, thankfully, it went in.”

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