Glentoran are on the up says hat-trick hero Robbie McDaid

Hat-Trick hero Robbie McDaid reckons the only way is up for Glentoran.
Glentoran’s Robbie McDaid celebrates his hat-trick goal against Carrick RangersGlentoran’s Robbie McDaid celebrates his hat-trick goal against Carrick Rangers
Glentoran’s Robbie McDaid celebrates his hat-trick goal against Carrick Rangers

Mick McDermott’s boys defied their lowly position in the Danske Bank Premiership table by turning in a performance of power, pace and panache, complimented by some slick finishing against a Carrick Rangers side that, even at this early stage, will face a relegation battle in weeks to come.

It was McDaid who was the headline grabber with his fourth hat-trick in the red, green and black jersey.

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But the biggest cheer of the day was reserved for comeback hero Hrvoje Plum who got on the scoresheet in his first game since January, having recovered from a cruciate ligament injury.

The Donnelly brothers, Jay and Ruaidhri, completed the demolition – it was latter’s first League goal for the Glens since moving across town from Cliftonville at the beginning of the year.

“I was delighted with the hat-trick,” said McDaid. “More importantly we were delighted with the win with such an emphatic score.

“When you score six against any team in this League it’s no mean feat. The boys were excellent and were full value for the win.

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“That performance could kick start our season. We are a group of lads with high standards.

“We probably haven’t met those standards over the last couple of weeks. It was good we could put on a real show for the fans who were back at the Oval.

“We were probably lacking a bit of consistency of late. Some of our play was just a little bit off in recent games. It was nothing major, but we’ve tried to correct a few little minor things in training.

“There were a lot of new lads that came into the squad over the summer.

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“It was a matter of time before we all gelled properly. We are not beginning to read each other’s movements.”

McDaid was also thrilled to have Plum back on board.

“It’s like having a new player in the side,” he added.

“Hrvoje had a horrible injury last year. Then the lockdown kind of delayed things for him.

“Everyone knows what he brings to the team. He’s a great lad and just knuckles down and gets on with his work.

“I was thrilled to see him back and, him getting on the scoresheet made it that wee bit special for him.

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“It was also great for Ruaidhri to get his first league goal. It can be a daunting task coming to a new club and trying to get that first goal.

“It takes some people longer than others, but thankfully Ruaidhri was able to get his goal and get the monkey off his back.”

Carrick Rangers chief Niall was pragmatic in his assessment of the game – ‘we were simply awful’, was how he summed up his team’s performance.

“Some people say we like a basketball team because of our height at the back, but there is no point in having an overload of six foot four guys in our box when they win nothing in the air,” he said.

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“I delegate people to pick up players and they didn’t do it.

“We looked like conceding any time Glentoran got into a wide area or got a set-piece.

“It was just awful from start to finish, the goals we conceded were a disaster. The guy (McDaid) got into between our two centre-backs for a free header for the first one which set the trend.

“For the second, there was a player (Donnelly) free at the back stick.

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“There was too much ball watching and not enough people marking inside the box.

“There is no hiding place after a performance like that. We were extremely poor in every department, but it’s up to me to fix these problems, and I’ll fix them.”

GLENTORAN: Coleing, Kane, McCullough, Gallagher, Gorman, O’Neill (McDonagh 65), McDaid, McClean, Marron, Plum (Bigirimana 68), J Donnelly (R Donnelly 72).

Unused subs: McDonagh, Mitchell, Brown, Smith, Cowan.

CARRICK RANGERS: Hogg, Neale, Surgenor, Rodgers, Loughran, Tully, Kelly (Gibson 66), Smith, Cherry (McKenna 46), Glendinning (Forsythe 46), Anderson.

Unused sub: McKinty, McGreevy, Fearon Ferrin.

REFEREE: Andrew Davey.

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