Miles of smiles for ace Shane as he continues to hit top gear

Shane Dolan has been clocking up the miles - both on and off the pitch - in a bid to be a success at Ballymena United.
Ballymena United striker Shane Dolan holds off Dungannon Swifts defender Adam McMinn. Picture: Press Eye.Ballymena United striker Shane Dolan holds off Dungannon Swifts defender Adam McMinn. Picture: Press Eye.
Ballymena United striker Shane Dolan holds off Dungannon Swifts defender Adam McMinn. Picture: Press Eye.

While the striker’s car can now almost complete the journey from Dublin to Ballymena on auto-pilot, Dolan says he is only revving up to hit top gear now.

Dolan has run into form at a good time, scoring in United’s recent win at Crusaders before netting the winning goal in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Dungannon Swifts.

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“I don’t mind the travelling at all,” says Dolan, who is based in Swords, north of Dublin.

“I leave the office and come straight up, and I’m here in two, two-and-a-half hours.

“During pre-season I was coming up three nights a week. I wanted to get fully fit and hit the ground running this season and thankfully I have.

“It’s been good to get a couple of goals and boost the confidence,” admitted Dolan, who had missed the opening game of the campaign because of an ankle injury sustained in pre-season.

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“I’m certainly getting there. I had a good pre-season, I knew I had to improve on last season and I came back a stone and four pounds lighter. I knew myself I was feeling fit in pre-season.

“I was gutted to miss the first game of the season but risking it in the first game could have put me back six or eight weeks so it’s good to get going now.

“Strikers tend to play off confidence so once you get that first goal there’s no reason why you can’t go on a run and that’s what we aim to do now.

“We’ve showed great character since the first game of the season but we fought back at Seaview from a goal down and against Dungannon we fought back straight after conceding a poor goal.

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“It was brilliant from Gary Thompson to set up my goal, it was a dead ball which looked to be going out and I took a chance and stayed in and around the penalty spot.

“Gary kept it alive and hooked it back across and I caught it on my left foot on the volley and I was delighted to see it hit the roof of the net, especially after hitting the crossbar earlier on.

“I knew when I came to Ballymena there were big expectations. I wasn’t physically fit like I am now.

“At Carrick and Donegal Celtic I scored goals so I knew coming here with the players that are at Ballymena that I was going to get chances. Now I’m fully fit I’m confident I can take the chances that come my way. I know I have to keep putting in a shift to keep the jersey now that I’ve been given my chance.

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“At Carrick and Donegal Celtic it was quite often backs to the wall and I was always playing at the top of a 4-5-1 and playing up there on my own so hold-up play is key.

“It’s nice when you can put in a shift and that the fans, who come and pay their money, appreciate your efforts - we owe them after the disappointing end to last season. With the squad we have there is no reason why we can’t reach the top six and pushing for higher again.

I just want to get into double figures and help the team - if you work hard, you get your reward,” he added.

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