Toals Co Antrim Shield final: Cliftonville v Ballymena United (tonight, Windsor Park. 7.45pm)
CLIFTONVILLE could be without three key players as the Reds prepare to face Ballymena United in tonight’s Co Antrim Shield decider at Windsor Park.
Joe Gormley, Chris Curran (both hamstring) and Rory Donnelly (ankle) are all struggling to be fit and with the north Belfast men still in the hunt of the league championship, boss Paddy McLaughlin is tempted to rest the trio.
An intense festive period appears to have taken its toll on Gormley and Curran while Donnelly has only recently recovered from an ankle problem but flared up again during last Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Carrick Rangers.
Gormley tweaked his hamstring against Larne over the Christmas period and Curran suffered a similar problem on New Year’s Day against Glenavon.
Neither Gormley or Curran were able to play a full game last weekend.
“It’s good to play in finals but you have to think long term as well,” said McLaughlin. “So we’ll see how they are after the physio has a look at them.
“Joe’s still got that hamstring injury which he’s been struggling with since the Larne game. We put him on on Saturday which wasn’t ideal. He’s nowhere near match-fit but we needed him.
“Ideally, he’d be sitting out a couple of weeks but he’s so key to us and so big a player for us, we’re trying to wrap him in cotton wool between games and protect him. Chris Curran went off injured with a hamstring on Saturday at Taylor's Avenue and Rory Donnelly’s ankle ligament injury has resurfaced, so we’ve a couple of bodies struggling for the game.”
Despite suffering back-to-back league defeats to Linfield and Carrick in the last week, the fifth-placed Reds are still only three points off the top.
A blip was probably coming for Cliftonville after a fantastic Christmas and New Year during which they picked up 12 points out of 12 to announce their title credentials to the rest of the league.
“Teams have blips along the way and hopefully that’s the end of ours,” said McLaughlin, who took over from Barry Gray last February.
“It doesn’t make it okay and you don’t accept it. There’s no reason why you can’t go without blips if you maintain your high standards. It’s hard to be on top of your game every week but if you’re going to be classed as a top side in the division and one of the best players in the division you’ve got to keep your standards up week after week.
“That’s why the best are the best because they’re able to do it time and time again and it’s something we’ve got to install into our game. We can’t accept these so-called hiccups or dips in form if you want to be put in the top bracket.”
Glentoran, Crusaders and Coleraine all stole a march on the Reds in the title race last weekend, but McLaughlin insists his players weren’t distracted by tonight’s Shield decider.
“I don’t think the level of performance against Carrick was anywhere near what we’ve been doing over the last couple of months. I wouldn’t put Tuesday night’s final as a distraction because we concentrate on every game as they come.
“I don’t think we made the right decisions in possession in the second half. It’s a tight pitch, Carrick are well organised and it’s a difficult place to go, but our decision-making should have been better playing down that hill, and we lacked a wee bit of intensity in the second half.”
With a couple of players struggling, it could open the door to a couple of players currently on the fringes of the Reds panel including Thomas Maguire and Seanan Foster.
Ballymena United, meanwhile, have been one of the surprise disappointments of the season so far, languishing in ninth place having lost four games on the bounce to Coleraine (0-2), Glentoran (0-2), Larne (2-3) and Glenavon (0-3).
“If we can get back to what we do best and get the ball down and play, I think we are more than capable of winning the match,” added McLaughlin.
PATHS TO FINAL
Ballymena United
Round One: Ballymena United 2 Dundela FC 1
Round Two: Ballymena United 1 Crusaders 1 (Ballymena win on penalties after extra time)
Semi-final: Ballymena United 4 H&W Welders 0
Cliftonville
Round One: Cliftonville 4 Knockbreda FC 0
Round Two: Linfield 2 Cliftonville 2 (Cliftonville win on penalties)
Semi-final: Cliftonville 1 Glentoran 0
LAST 10 FINALS
2009–10: Crusaders 3 Linfield 2 (after extra time)
2010–11: Glentoran 3 Linfield 1
2011–12: Cliftonville 2 Glentoran 1
2012–13: Ballymena United 1 Linfield 1 (Linfield win 4-3 on penalties after extra time)
2013–14: Linfield 0 Crusaders 0 (Linfield win 4-1 on penalties after extra time)
2014–15: Cliftonville 1 Bangor 0
2015–16: Ballymena United 3 Linfield 2
2016–17: Linfield 3 Crusaders 1
2017–18: Crusaders 4 Ballymena United 2
2018–19: Crusaders 4 Linfield 3
