Joe Gormley has the same natural instinct for goalscoring as Liverpool legends Ian Rush and John Aldridge, says Cliftonville manager Jim Magilton.
The Reds have a huge game against reigning Sports Direct Premiership Champions Larne at Inver Park tomorrow (2pm) with the North Belfast side flying high in second place.
Larne are nine points behind Magilton’s team with four games in hand, due to their European commitments, and tomorrow will be an introduction to the Irish League for new manager Nathan Rooney.
Although Rooney has never worked in the league before, you can be sure he knows all about Joe ‘The Goal’ Gormley and his goalscoring exploits for Cliftonville.
The 34-year-old is enjoying a new lease of life following the departures of fellow strikers Ronan Hale, Ben Wilson and Sam Ashford in the summer.
His hat-trick against Loughgall last Saturday followed a hat-trick against Dungannon Swifts three weeks ago, taking his tally of match-balls to an astonishing 17 in his time at Solitude.
Magilton started his career at Anfield before moving to Sheffield Wednesday, Southampton and Ipswich Town and says watching Gormley reminds him of watching two of the Merseyside club’s best ever strikers.
“I was at Liverpool, I watched Liverpool for three or four years, I was around that, and Ian Rush was THE most incredible player, watching him from an early age.
Then they brought in John Aldridge, who was an absolute predator in the box.
“It’s their football intelligence, it’s those moments when they weigh up every situation, and they are the calmest people on the pitch.
“Time must stand still for them.
“They have this incredible ability to weigh everything up and then have the technical ability to finish.
“Joe is in that category because, no matter how you approach goalscoring, he’s brought it to a level that we’ve all seen in the league.
“There was an onus placed on Joe at the start of the season, and Ryan Curran, Rory Donnelly and young Ryan Corrigan.
“We knew if we could get the ball into Joe, in and around the box, he’s pretty lethal, so we had to be a little bit more adaptable and show a little bit more courage.
“We just needed to create opportunities for him, especially from wide areas.
“Others will have a better idea of where Joe is in Irish League history.
“I’d say Joe is going to go down as one of the best, definitely top ten, top five.
“There’s an argument there, but we feel very lucky and privileged to have him, the club do, the fans do, and long may this continue.”
Larne’s last outing in the league was a 1-0 defeat to Linfield two weeks ago, and proved to be Tiernan Lynch’s penultimate game in charge before leaving for Derry City.
Nathan Rooney was unveiled as his successor last Monday and led Larne out for their 1-0 defeat to Olimpija Ljubljana in Slovenia on Thursday night.
Sean Graham was sent off late in the game but remains available for domestic selection tomorrow.