Glebe overcome Olympic hurdle

Two goals from Glebe substitute David McVicker saw off the Belfast visitors in a match which saw dismissals for players from both sides.

Speaking to Times Sport afterwards, Glebe boss Gary Scott praised the efforts of his team and hailed the contribution of match-winner McVicker.

“The match went very, very well,” he said.

“I thought we were very effective despite being a couple of bodies short at the moment.

“I’d a couple of changes to make with Owen Moody and Craig McAllister not available but it was excellent against a Cliftonville side which was a mix of youth and experience.

“It was hard fought game and I have to say I felt we edged it overall.

“There were good performances especially from the newer lads coming in.

“I thought our back four was very strong and the guys going forward did a lot of things right forcing their goalkeeper to make a few good saves.

“But the star of the show for me was David McVicker who is part of the chain gang of McVickers who have served the Glebe with distinction.

“He came off the bench to score two goals out of the top drawer, absolutely fantastic.

“It’s all about when one door closes another opens for someone else.

“Too much was made of the guys leaving the club and not enough was made of some of the young lads who are here.

“Certainly McVicker is one of the guys who has stepped up and has given himself a chance of showing what he can do over a period of time.

“The challenge for him now is to keep on growing and developing.

“The only down side was Stephen Tosh being sent off really late on in the game and I feel the referee was evening up the sending off of a Cliftonville player beforehand.

“I thought it was harsh to say the least.”

Glebe’s attention switches to tonight’s (Tuesday) match at home to Ards from 7.45pm, followed by the visit of Newry City to the Riada Stadium on Saturday.

“Ards will be a hard game,” said Scott.

“They lost their first game in the league and were tipped at the start of the season as one of the sides who would be there or thereabouts.

“So I’ve no doubt their focus will be very much on kick-starting their season.

“The reality is, body-wise we are a bit short.

“Owen Moody will be out for another month with a broken nose, McAllister is unavailable but Ryan Marks will be back.

“Defensively we are strong, experience-wise we are maybe lacking but the only way you get experience is playing in good hard games and in Ards on Tuesday and Newry on Saturday you won’t get many harder games in the league this year. But we’re looking forward to it.”