Glentoran coach Tim McCann believes a “strong mentality” helped his team smuggle three vital points against gutsy Ballymena United at the BetMcLean Oval on Saturday.

Goals from hot strike pair, Jordan Jenkins and Pat Hoban, helped the east Belfast side get back on a winning track after suffering two defeats over the previous seven days.

They lost their first league game against Dungannon Swifts before being dumped out of the Co Antrim Shield by Carrick Rangers in midweek, albeit on a dreaded penalty shootout.

McCann, standing in for suspended manager Declan Devine, admitted it was imperative the Glens shook off that disappointment.

placeholder image — Glentoran's Jordan Jenkins celebrates his goal. (Photo by David Maginnis/Pacemaker Press)

“We needed to win,” he claimed. “Because we lost our two previous games, apparently there was a crisis at the club.

“We just had to drown out the outside noise. If you are at a club that is expected to win all the time, there are going to be people looking in from the outside and are quick to criticise.

“But this is a different bunch of lads. We have a lot of leaders in the group; there is a really good mentality – and more importantly, there is a lot of pride within the group.

“When things are said outside, it hurts the players. So, they showed that strong mentality...I think the performance, in terms of their work rate against Ballymena, showed what it means to play for the club.

“We probably could have made it a bit easier for ourselves; we perhaps could have been two or three goals up a half-time. But we got the job done in the end.”

The victory keeps Glentoran on the heels of leaders Coleraine, but McCann believes the table doesn’t mean a lot at this time.

“It’s one of the strongest leagues I can ever remember,” he added. “There are no easy games, any team can beat another on any given day.

"You can’t afford to switch off for one minute or you’ll be punished.

“I’ve no doubt about the quality in the squad and the mentality in the group. Going forward, it’s all about keeping everyone fit, it’s about riding your luck when you are under pressure and it’s about overcoming the disappointment of defeat and how you bounce back from that.”

Ballymena United boss Jim Ervin insists his boys once again gifted their opponents an opening goal.

“We gave away a stupid, sloppy goal in the first half,” he moaned. “The ball comes right across the six-yard box (from a corner kick) and there is a free man (Jenkins) at the back post.

“From our point, it was a sloppy goal to give away – again it was down to an individual error. In open play there was very little in the game, both teams snuffed out each other.

“In saying that, I think we were denied a stonewall penalty kick in the second half when Josh Kelly stuck out his arm, and the ball hit him on the elbow.

“When you come to places like this, you are never going to get much...some of the 50/50 decisions always seemed to go Glentoran’s way. But that was a major one for me...the ball clearly hit Kelly’s elbow and any other week it’s a penalty kick.”