Neither climbing the table by an extra position nor the 3-0 win over Lisburn Distillery could prevent Eddie Patterson from picking fault with his Glentoran side.
Goals from Sean Ward, Richard Clarke and Andy Waterworth lifted Glentoran to fifth in the table, but the manager desired more.
Highlighting a lack of urgency and, at times, a lethargic approach, Patterson said he wanted to see a greater winning attitude from his team.
“Maybe it was our fitness levels or Distillery’s lack thereof, but I thought we didn’t quite show the urgency I wanted to see,” the Glens boss said.
“We controlled the game well, but we weren’t as quick in our passing as we should have been. Even after some changes, we pressed up but still were not up to scratch overall.”
Ward’s shot was deflected into the net on 27 minutes, after a handful of half-chances for each side, before Clarke doubled the lead on the hour mark.
Waterworth had mis-controlled his effort in the first instance, but the ball fell to Clarke-in-waiting, who finished it from six yards out.
Stephen Carson set Waterworth up with blistering precision for his cross on 75 minutes, wrapping up the afternoon.
Patterson was full of praise for returning goalkeeper Elliott Morris whose spectacular save in the second half, to deny substitute and former Glens team-mate Michael Halliday on his first touch, changed the game.
“Possibly the turning point was Elliott’s save, as two minutes beforehand they could have levelled, and that would have completely changed the course of the game.
“Distillery certainly had chances, but that one stands out, as does the top-drawer save.
“I’m delighted with the three points, and with the clean sheet.
“We’ve got ourselves up to one position higher in the league and that’s the aim over the course of the next few games, to claw our way up further up before the split.”
Despite having won their previous two matches, however, Distillery boss Tim McCann was at a loss for answers.
Arguing that his Whites were in the driving seat for much of the game, McCann put the loss down to failing to take chances.
“Before Saturday, I had said - this is the game we can win - as strange as that may sound,” he said.
“And true enough, I thought we could have. They were there for the taking and were frustrated at times by the amount of possession we had.
“But you absolutely have to score. There was nobody there to finish off some of the chances we did have, but maybe it was the system; I just don’t know.”
The game started brightly, with Clarke unable to put and early chance away for the Glens, while Jordan Hughes ought to have put the home side ahead, but he was dreadfully miscalculating and shot way over the bar from close range.
Ryan McCann cleared Jimmy Callacher’s header off the line after 15 minutes and before the opener, Ward was denied by Lee Windrum.
Comments