Glentoran boss Warren Feeney breathed a sigh of relief after his side snatched a last-minute victory against a spirited Annagh United, in Saturday’s fifth round Clearer Water Irish Cup tie.
The win sets up a sixth-round tie with Ballymacash Rangers at the BlueBell Stadium.
Striker Junior was the difference between the sides, just as the clock struck 90.
Substitute Faud Sule, showed some smart feet on the edge of the area, before rolling the ball into the centre-forward who made no mistake with a calm, slotted finish past Jason Craughwell in the United goal. The sense of relief around the Oval was palpable, a feeling shared by Feeney.
“Yeah, we left it late today.” He said.
“I don’t think it was one for the neutral. We took our time getting into the game and that probably led to the frustration at half-time.
“These games are difficult for the bigger side as people expect it to be a walk in the park, so win or lose you can never really meet people’s expectations.
“But that’s cup football. It’s a 90-minute-game, whether it’s the first or last minute, all that matters is that we are through to the sixth round so in that regard we’re happy to get the job done.”
A raft of second-half substitutions finally began to sway the game in the favour of the Premiership side, after it looked like the Championship side had all the answers for the questions that the Glens asked. Sule provided some much-needed “bite” in defence, whilst Daire O’Connor offered some width and class down the right flank.
Feeney singled out another substitute, Rhys Walsh, as the catalyst for the increase in energy that led to his side’s victory. The 17-year-old showed his lightning pace on the left wing, time-after-time getting the better of his opposite number.
“I thought Rhys was excellent.” Feeney said.
“When you hear people in the media talking about wanting to see wingers taking people on, I think the young lad is everything you could ask for.
“As you saw today his pace is phenomenal, and that’s the one thing that defenders fear most. He is certainly a player to watch for the future.”
The draw will be viewed as relatively kind for the Glens. Intermediate side Ballymacash sit two divisions below Feeney’s side, and the manager was happy with the draw.
“It will be a tough game but I’m happy with it.
“We will respect everyone no matter who we play. We will go into the game as favourites, but we will do our homework.”
Losing manager Ciaran McGurgan was understandably frustrated after the game, but the Annagh man could be proud of his teams effort, with new signing Eoin McTeggart the stand out player.
“Yeah, we’re gutted.” He said.
“Nobody expected us to challenge Glentoran the way we did today, but I thought we put it up to them throughout and never looked out of our depth.
“The 90th minute winner was a sickener, but that’s the difference between us and a full-time outfit, they are going to have the legs come the last few seconds, and it turns out that was the difference in the end.
“For us now it’s about getting back to the Championship and hopefully this performance will give us the fillip we need to get back challenging for promotion.”
Clearer Water Irish Cup fifth round
Ballyclare 5 Strabane Athletic 2
Bangor FC 3 Dergview 1
Carrick 1 Portadown 1 (aet, Portadown win 5-4 on penalties)
Coleraine 0 Cliftonville 3 (aet)
Crusaders 1 Ards 1 (aet, Ards win 7-6 on penalties)
Dungannon Swifts 5 Willowbank 0
Glentoran 1 Annagh Utd 0
H&W Welders 1 Larne 4
Institute 2 Crumlin Star 0
Knockbreda 0 Glenavon 4
Linfield 4 Warrenpoint Town 2
Loughgall 3 Rosemount Rec 0
Newington 2 Dundela 1
Newry City 3 Ballinamallard Utd 2
Oxford Sunnyside 2 Ballymacash Rangers 3
Queen’s University 0 Ballymena Utd 4