Win against Newry City was our biggest victory of the season, says Glentoran manager Warren Feeney as Shay McCartan grabs the winner for 10-man hosts

It looked so good for the east Belfast team when Shay McCartan shot them into the lead just before the half hour, but within seconds the game was turned on its head with the dramatic dismissal of defender Aidan Wilson.

The former Rangers man was adjudged guilty of stamping on Newry’s Adam Carroll, which meant the Glens had to play for just over an hour with only 10 men.

However, the bottom of the table side never really tested Feeney’s men, who moved up to fourth place in the Sports Direct Premiership table, courtesy of McCartan’s expert finish with 29 minutes on the clock.

“It was always going to be difficult after having a man sent off so quickly after us taking the lead,” said Feeney. “People don’t realise how difficult it is when you go down to 10 men, but we defended very well as a team.

“I said a few weeks ago, you’ve got to love defending and I thought our boys loved defending, especially in the second half.

“At this football club, it’s all about mentality. I thought it was a performance that really showed what this football club is all about, the boys showed great mental strength. To be honest, I would say that’s our biggest win of the season so far.

“The performance showed a different side to this team... it showed we can now grind out a result when we need to. It’s not all about flair and nice football, sometimes you’ve got to show resilience and determination – we did that.

“I told the boys not to underestimate the win, it was a massive, massive victory.”

Feeney admitted he will take the necessary action if Wilson is deemed guilty following his dismissal.

“I turned around just as the referee blew the whistle, but some of my staff said it didn’t look good,” he said. “If it is (a stamp), we’ve got to deal with it internally.

“I’ll have a look at it. If needs be, I must address the situation. I will deal with it, but I don’t want that incident to take away from the team’s performance.

“I don’t like these games because they are a potential banana skin – the pressure was all on us. I couldn’t fault any of my boys from the goalkeeper right through the team, they were superb.”