Stuart King reflects on the decision that paid massive dividends during Carrick Rangers' Premiership comeback victory over Glentoran

​The gutsy Rangers hit back twice to level, before Allen went to work only four minutes after replacing Nedas Maciulaitis.

It looked so good for Warren Feeney’s men when skipper Marcus Kane headed them into an early lead, but King’s boys turned the game on its head with a stunning second-half display.

Although Danny Purkis equalised six minutes after the restart, Jay Donnelly restored Glentoran’s advantage with a classy finish.

But they managed to hold the lead for merely two minutes when defender Paddy McClean handled inside the box, allowing Purkis to score from the spot. The defender was duly dismissed.

With the clock ticking down, Allen was eventually introduced on 79 minutes and, when Kyle Cherry floated in a delicious cross from the right, the former Glentoran man rose at the near post to flick home.

Glentoran’s day of woe was complete in injury time when manager Feeney was red-carded for speaking out of turn to referee Lee Tavinder.

“To be honest, I thought a point would have been immense for us,” said an elated King. “I told Curtis to go on and make sure we get the point.

“He hammered me in the dressing room at the finish because he’s a goal machine.

“He was annoyed he didn’t start, but he has been carrying a hamstring injury. I was trying to protect him because he’s so important to us, he scores goals.

“Then, he pops in the winner, so I was kind of lost for words for a change.

“As manager, I must protect certain players because we’ve big games coming up. But Curtis is one of those players who can turn draws into wins.”

King was thrilled with his team’s overall showing.

“They (Glentoran) had all the possession, but apart from the goal, they didn’t hurt us,” he added. “I thought we could have been level at the break because their goalkeeper (Aaron McCarey) made a wonder save (from Purkis).

“Our shape and our discipline was good. They boys deserved an enormous amount of credit.

"Glentoran are a side packed with internationals and Irish League superstars, but we matched them all over the park.

“Although I’m buzzing with the result, we must keep grounded.

"It’s a great win, but it’s only three points. We must now move on.

“I took a lot of flack after our result against Glenavon (last week)...perhaps it was fully deserved. Football is all about ups and downs, it’s how you react.

“We’ve had a brilliant reaction against a team of Glentoran’s class. My players were outstanding, they worked so hard.”

Glentoran assistant boss John Gregg – standing in for the banned Feeney – insisted it was a poor day at the office for his team.

“Anything that could go wrong went wrong in a madcap second 45 minutes.” he said. “In a crazy kind of way, I thought we played better in the second half...we had a better tempo about us, and we began creating more chances.

“But we conceded an equaliser too soon after going ahead for the second time and then we had Paddy sent off, which changed the dynamic of the game.

“To be honest, I felt some of the decisions went against us at crucial times.

"I don’t like going down that route, but I thought some of them influenced the game.”