Carrick Rangers assistant manager Peter Thompson was delighted with a “really good day at the office” and paid special praise to “excellent” midfield maestro Aidan Steele following their 3-0 Premiership win at Bangor.

A memorable 2026 continued on Saturday as Danny Gibson’s first half brace and Steele’s strike sealed a ninth league victory across 17 matches played this calendar year.

That impressive run has set the platform for Carrick’s surge to a European play-off position – they’re already guaranteed to finish the campaign in seventh as they chase continental qualification for only the second time in club history.

With Carrick’s remaining fixtures played without consequence, Thompson insists the Co Antrim club are determined to maintain high standards.

placeholder image — Carrick Rangers assistant manager Peter Thompson. (Photo by Desmond Loughery/Pacemaker Press)

"We’re delighted to get three points, a clean sheet and no injuries,” he told the club’s media channel. “People outside of the club and the dressing room will say it’s a dead rubber, but we just don’t believe when you put 22 players on a pitch there’s anything like a dead rubber.

"The competitive DNA kicks in and the boys go at it. It was a really good day at the office.

"Up until the first goal, there wasn’t much in the game, I don’t think there was any action for either team in either box. It was a good press and it breaks to Danny, who finishes it beautifully.

"As happens in football sometimes, you wait for one and the second comes along quickly. We weren’t counting our chickens in the dugout as we know how good Gareth (Deane) is at saving penalties, but Danny slotted it home.

"The manager’s message at half-time was to be professional. We have set standards at the club this year and we don’t fall below that – if any player does, they’ll find they won’t be on the pitch.

"Aidan Steele gets the third goal and it was a reward for his performance because I thought he was excellent all over the park, always available for the ball, and that’s the sign of a really good player.”

Carrick have been – by a distance – the most lethal team in the Premiership’s bottom-half, scoring 61 goals, 16 more than Crusaders, who come next on that list.

Across the entire top-flight, only Coleraine (77), Glentoran (71) and Larne (65) have netted more than Carrick this term.

While Danny Gibson (18) leads the way for Baxter’s men on the goal front, Thompson insists a collective effort has been crucial.

"The frustration maybe is that in the first half of the season, we were playing equally as well as we are now...we’ve played consistently well all season.” he added. “In that first half of the season, when we had chances, we maybe weren’t taking them.

"From January 10 and the fifth round of the Irish Cup when we put five past Queen’s, the play has been rewarded with the finishing of not just Danny, but players all over the pitch.

"It has been a real team effort and huge credit to the players on that.”