Stephen Baxter fears Carrick Rangers injury 'not good' while another star is 'playing at the top of his game'
Carrick Rangers manager Stephen Baxter believes Joe Crowe is “playing at the top of his game” after helping his side seal a 2-1 Premiership victory over Glenavon – but fears an injury picked up by another key player is “not good”.
The ‘Gers extended their unbeaten league run to six matches and have now won each of their last five after Paul Heatley and Luke McCullough struck against the Premiership’s basement club on Tuesday evening.
Carrick are the top-flight’s form team, scoring a league-high 17 goals across their winning streak and currently sit inside the top-half as they chase a European play-off spot.
Having returned from injury, former Glentoran midfielder Crowe has started in each of those league triumphs alongside Carrick’s Senior Shield final victory over Cliftonville.
Baxter’s experienced stars are stepping up at a crucial stage of the season and he was full of praise for Crowe’s performance.
"Joe Crowe was outstanding out there,” Baxter told the club’s media channel. “I gave him such a hug after and told him he was man of the match by a country mile.
"His performance, his winning of the ball, breaking everything up, headers, through balls time and number, was class.
"That's a guy playing at the top of his game, and you can say that about a number of players right now.
"That's the levels, we've been trying to get to those levels for a wee while, and now we've hit that bar and we have to keep it going.
"There's a lot of tired bodies, there one or two injuries, Paul was going to come off after five minutes of the second half but managed to get through.
"They'll all be wrecked tomorrow and that's just natural in how this whole process goes. We will see how we cope with it all, but on the whole it's very good."
Carrick were dealt an injury blow in the second half when goalkeeper Scott Pengelly, who has impressed after stepping in for Nathan Gartside, was forced off and replaced by Glentoran loanee Lorcan Donnelly.
Pengelly proved to be Carrick’s Senior Shield penalty shootout hero and has kept two league clean sheets, but he could now be set for a spell on the sidelines.
Former Cliftonville goalkeeper Gartside has been out of action since December through injury with Baxter providing a positive update on his potential return.
"We think it's a pop of the shoulder which is not good,” added Baxter on Pengelly. “We think the shoulder maybe popped out when he came out for the ball and that's difficult.
"It's good we have Lorcan who has been available to us and is building his way into the football club.
"Nathan Gartside is probably a week or two away from a return so if we do lose Scotty for a period of time, thankfully we have Nathan coming back at the right time.
"It's how football works, injuries come your way and you have to deal with them. We've to work through it.
"We have five wins on the trot, 15 points is sensational, and we're really pleased with what we're doing."