Former Bolton Wanderers and Everton goalkeeper called upon FA Cup memories in Glentoran shoot-out
Former Everton goalkeeper Billy Crellin called upon past FA Cup penalty shoot-out experience to help Glentoran seal their spot in the BetMcLean Cup semi-finals – and now wants to work his way into gaining more minutes at The Oval.
With team-mates Pat Hoban, Jordan Jenkins, Cammy Palmer, Ryan Cooney and Nathaniel Ferris producing a flawless set of spot-kicks, Crellin proved to be Glentoran’s hero, saving Shea Gordon’s effort to secure progression.
Crellin joined Glentoran in October and has so far had to settle for involvement solely in the BetMcLean Cup with Andrew Mills preferred by boss Declan Devine for Premiership action.
The 25-year-old has built up experience at the likes of the Toffees and a loan spell at Bolton Wanderers, while he also registered 34 League Two appearances for Accrington Stanley last season.
He was between the sticks for Stanley’s dream FA Cup trip to Premier League champions Liverpool, starting at Anfield where he came up against the likes of Darwin Nunez, Federico Chiesa and Northern Ireland’s Conor Bradley.
Accrington set up their blockbuster showdown with a shoot-out win over Swindon Town and Crellin called upon those memories during Tuesday’s triumph.
"It's the same thing!" he told the club’s media channel when reflecting on the two shoot-outs. “It was the same in the FA Cup last year, in the second round to get to Anfield it went to penalties.
"I've been in that situation before so it paid off and we're through in the end. The only thing we needed to do was get a result and that's what we did. We're in the hat for the next round and that was the most important thing. Now we have to change our focus to Saturday.
"The main thing was we went 1-0 down with seven or eight minutes left and we didn't give up. We went down the other end, got a goal and now we're through."
Mills has started in all of Glentoran’s Premiership matches this season following the summer departure of Dan Gyollai with Crellin deputising after St Mirren loanee Peter Urminsky’s early exit.
The Glens are set to meet Coleraine in the BetMcLean Cup semi-finals in late-January, but Crellin is focused on the immediate future with Cliftonville returning to east Belfast on Saturday.
"I'm loving it,” he added. “It's a massive club, I'm enjoying my time and I'm chomping at the bit to get more minutes, but we'll see how that goes.
"I think it's (cup win) massive going into the Christmas period because it's very busy and we needed a result. It changes momentum and now we have three or four big games coming up in a short period of time."