Lutton didn’t doubt his Garvey side

Even though Garvey were 2-0 behind just four minutes into the crunch match against Cookstown, Lutton knew his side had what it took to roar back and claim their semi-final spot.

The completed the comeback with just five minutes left on the clock, Daniel Buser converting the winning goal to set up Saturday’s eagerly anticipated semi-final clash with old rivals Banbridge.

“It was tight at the end,” said Coach Lutton.

“We conceded early goals but after that, I didn’t think we were under any real trouble. I wasn’t really in any sort of panic because we were always creating chances, we just had to take one of them. When you’re pushing like that, the other team will get some chances on the break but I never got too concerned.

“It was very similar to the game in Cookstown when we were behind and came back to win.”

Cookstown really threatened to spoil the party at Comber Road as Garvey prepared to receive the Ulster Premier League trophy after the game.

More dropped points would have seen their campaign come to an end after they were beaten by Pembroke, who didn’t even make the semi-finals in what was a closely-fought Pool A.

“It would have been a shame if the season had finished on Saturday,” conceded Lutton.

“It was disappointing to lose to Pembroke early on but we knew we had a very winnable game in Cork and then we had another two home games. We knew we had to win both of them because it was a very tough group. There were four strong teams who could still qualify going into the last game. It’s great to get through.”

Now however, those nightmare opening four minutes on Saturday matter little to Lutton and his Garvey side. It’s full steam ahead for them as they target another trophy this weekend at Banbridge’s Havelock Park.

Lutton said: “We’ll have a couple of players coming back in this weekend but we had five schoolboys in the squad against Cookstown on Saturday so it’s great for them to be playing.”