‘We let club down’ says Whites boss

Lisburn Distillery boss Tommy Kincaid says his side’s Irish Cup exit last weekend was ‘a big disappointment’.
Lisburn Distillery's Stuart Thompson in action against Crumlin Star. US145052cd  Picture: Cliff DonaldsonLisburn Distillery's Stuart Thompson in action against Crumlin Star. US145052cd  Picture: Cliff Donaldson
Lisburn Distillery's Stuart Thompson in action against Crumlin Star. US145052cd Picture: Cliff Donaldson

Kincaid’s men had been on a seven match unbeaten run, however, that came to a halt at New Grosvenor on Saturday as the Whites lost 1-0 to Crumlin Star.

And the Whites’ manager told his men they had ‘let the club down’ with a below-par performance, which he hopes they can make amends for when they return to cup action again tomorrow (Saturday) when they take on Championship 2 side Coagh United at home in the Intermediate Cup, kick off 1.30pm.

“It was a big disappointment,” Kincaid commented. “It was disappointing for everyone at the club. I was hoping for a cup run but that wasn’t to be.

“You never know what you’re going to get with Amateur League sides, but I don’t know what went wrong,” he added.

“Some of the players know some of their guys, maybe they were too familiar with them. Maybe they thought they just had to turn up.

“We’ve been on a good run of form, but we didn’t show that on Saturday and they were right up for it.

“I thought we got what we deserved,” he stated.

“At the end of the day I hurt as much as everyone else from this,” Kincaid said. “I wanted this for the club.

“I thought we let the club down and I told the players that.

“There are a lot of good people that work hard behind the scenes at the club and the club would have benefitted financially from a cup run, but we’ve missed out on that. I thought we let the club down.”

Looking ahead to tomorrow’s match, Kincaid added: “You never get over something like that until your next win. We are working hard this week to hopefully get a win that will lift us.

“We’re doing okay in the league and hopefully we can get that form back.

“We don’t have a league fixture until after Boxing Day. Sometimes cup matches can be a godsend from the pressure of the league but after what happened on Saturday I wish we’d had a league match.”

The Whites boss is eager for his men to get back to winning ways and hopes this weekend’s cup campaign can go a little more smoothly than their ill-fated Irish Cup attempt.

“We want to take it one match at a time and see what happens, but if you take your eyes off the ball you are going to get hurt,” Kincaid warned.

“I don’t know much about Coagh United this season,” Kincaid commented.

“I think they’ve changed their management. But at the end of the day, it will be a hard game.

“We’ll be doing our research on them but it’s more about how we respond,” he added.

“We’ve been looking really hungry lately and on Saturday we didn’t for some reason. Now it’s all about our response and I’d like us to get the win,” Kincaid concluded.