McCloskey: We showed great desire to fight back for draw

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.

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.

“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.”

Carrick were by far the better side after the break but they were wasteful in front of goal.

Sencer Yilmaz - signed from Larne in the summer - could easily have netted a hat-trick but poor finishing let him down.

The men in amber and black got off to the worst possible start when Kyle Owens brought Semple down just inside the box. Up stepped full-back Roddy who dispatched a no-nonsense spot-kick in off the crossbar.

As Carrick struggled to find their composure, ‘Stute took advantage and doubled their lead 10 minutes later when Michael McCrudden flashed the ball across the goalmouth where Semple was on hand to do the necessary with the simplest of tap-ins.

The visitors could - and probably should - have added a third midway though the first-half when Ricky-Lee Dougherty, one-on-one with Robert Robinson, hit his shot straight at the new Carrick goalkeeper.

Rangers weren’t at the races but there was a chink of light close to the interval when Correy Davidson pulled one back. ‘Stute stopper Alan Ryan misjudged the flight of the ball from a corner and it dropped to Davidson who did the necessary at the back post.

After the break Yilmaz could have scored twice in the space of a minute. He hit the post with a delicate chip after Ryan parried a McGilloway, before tamely side-footing a gilt-edged chance from six yards straight at the stopper.

Dougherty could have extended ‘Stute’s lead midway through the second-half but was caught off-balance and contrived to send a close-range effort wide.

At the other end, Addis bamboozled the defence with a mazy run. His resultant shot was parried and the ball dropped to Yilmaz who was, again, thwarted by Ryan.

McCloskey’s penalty was awarded a minute later when McGilloway was felled in the area. The former Portadown youngster competently guided his spot-kick into the left-hand corner.

Carrick had the chances to take all three points. Substitute Josh Cash rattled the upright and, had McGilloway not chosen to get a foot on the end of Addis’ goal-bound effort, his team would have snatched a late winner.

Carrick Rangers: Robinson, Kelly (West 35), Murray, Haveron, Owens, Harmon, Addis, McCloskey, McGilloway, Yilmaz (Cash 75), Davidson. Unused subs: Steele, Bell, Taggart.

Institute: Ryan, Roddy, Taylor (Crown 59), Jarvis, McLaughlin, Harkin (Walsh 69), Semple, McAuley, Dougherty, McCrudden, McKeever. Subs: McCready, Patterson, Wilson.

Referee: Peter McGrath (Glengormley).

Report by John Gillespie | Twitter: @Times_Sport