Welders will feel hard done by, says Hughes

With six minutes left on the clock, Corey Davidson scored his second goal of the season to earn Carrick their fifth straight victory in all competitions. The three points move Rangers within two points of Championship 1 leaders Ards.

Davidson’s winner - a delightful lob over James Taylor in the Welders goal from the edge of the 18-yard box - came after Rangers old boy Nathan McConnell’s tap-in had cancelled out Conor McCloskey’s opener.

The Welders thought they had grabbed the lead on 65 minutes but Carrick stopper Robert Robinson pulled off a point-blank save to and turned the ball around the post for a corner.

Adam Dick, a second-half substitute for Sencer Yilmaz, missed a good chance when Taylor was caught off his line. And, but for a fine save from Taylor, Aaron Harmon could have made it 3-1 when the midfielder squandered a good opportunity when he found himself one-on-one against the shot-stopper.

“Harland and Wolff Welders will feel hard done by,” Hughes said. “They had the better chances and it was another game in which we didn’t sparkle but dug out a result.

“We just keep on winning, grinding out the results despite not performing well – but I am well aware that we just can’t keep doing that. It’s nice to win when you haven’t played well but it’s not satisfying and we need to get our performances up quite a few notches.

“At 1-1, Robert Robinson produced a remarkable save – and I mean a world class save to keep us in the game. That’s what we brought him here for and he delivered in style. And I would have no hesitation is saying that we would have been beaten had he not made that wonder save.

“Why we are not playing as well as we should, I am not sure. Maybe it’s because we are a young team and without a lot of experience, the players still getting to know one another’s game. But I can see a slight improvement with every outing and I know we will get where we want to be.

“We will keep working on our game and we are heading in the right direction, so we can’t complain too much. What we must do is work hard and be sure not to underestimate that task ahead.”

Carrick Rangers: Robinson, Crawford (West), Haveron, Owens, Murray, Davidson, McCloskey, Harmon, Addis, Yilmaz (Dick), McGilloway (McDermott).

Unused subs: Steele, Taggart.