Jim Ervin delighted to see Carrick Rangers click into their groove again

Jim Ervin is hoping Carrick Rangers excellent performance against Coleraine on Saturday is a sign that they are back in the old routine again.
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October was a forgettable month for the Gers with their win over Ballymena United at the start of the month their only victory.

It was a severe drop off in form for Carrick, who had been one of the impressive sides at the start of this season after Stuart King took over the reins.

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Saturday’s draw with the Bannsiders may have only earned them a point but Ervin felt they had clicked back into gear again.

Jim Ervin and the Carrick Rangers defence restricted Coleraine to very few chances on SaturdayJim Ervin and the Carrick Rangers defence restricted Coleraine to very few chances on Saturday
Jim Ervin and the Carrick Rangers defence restricted Coleraine to very few chances on Saturday

“We had started the season really well but had tailed off a bit over the last few weeks.

“We hadn’t been playing as well, we hadn’t been doing the things that Stuartie had us doing at the start of the season, for whatever reason I don’t know, because we don’t go out to do that.

“For one reason or another it’s happened, sometimes when you go through a sticky patch those things happen.

“You may be lacking in confidence too.

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“But today I thought our game plan and going to three at the back suited us, and I thought it worked well against their two.

“The result should give us a lot of confidence going forward.

“It’s not like we were lucky to get a draw, we were far from lucky.

“If our finishing had been a bit better, or our desire a bit better we could have nicked it.

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“We have to take the confidence from it and the opportunities and move on to next week.

“Stuartie has demanded we play a certain way and do certain things.

“So for as long as we knock our pan in and get in people’s faces there will be more pluses than there will be negatives.

“We will come back in next week and continue to work hard.”

The experienced Ervin payed his part at the back marshalling the back three and restricting the visitors to very few opportunities on the day.

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While at the other end they craved out several clear-cut chances that on another day, with a bit more composure, could have won them the game.

“Coleraine are at the end of the table they’re at for a reason,” Ervin said.

“We knew it was going to be a difficult game and that they were going to throw everything at us in the last 20 minutes.

“They brought Bradley on and we knew what they were going to do, so we had to stand tall, and thankfully we managed to do that.

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“We had quite a lot of chances at the other end too. We maybe scuffed at shots instead of getting clean shots away,

“But there’s a lot for us to be positive about.

“Yes it was good defensively, but going forward today we created as many chances as we have done in the last three or four games.”