BY RYAN FERRY
LAGAN Harps manager Garry Gibson has been enthused with how competitive his team have been this season and he’s hoping they can stay in the promotion mix.
The Manorcunningham side managed to persuade a number of Ballyraine’s title-winning youth team to sign on the dotted line during pre-season.
Gibson knew they were bringing in quality young players like Oisin Harkin, Kyle Martin and his own son, Faolan, but there was uncertainty about how the talented teenagers would adapt to senior football.
However, things have gone well and they are fourth in the First Division table with five games remaining and are still in the picture for automatic promotion or the play-off spot that comes with third place.
“At the start of the year, it was about being competitive for us,” said Gibson.
“I think we have been very competitive so we are pleased with that.
“The games we have lost…look, you always get hard luck stories in football. Some things go for you and some things don’t.
“The main aim was just to be competitive and try and stay in the Division.
“We’re not guaranteed to stay in the division yet because it’s that tight. I’ve been coaching for a lot of years and have never seen a league where the teams are so even.
“Maybe at the start of the year, I mentioned all the young boys that we were signing but the experienced players that were at the club have really helped these young boys.
“Some of those experienced boys aren’t old at all themselves but it’s just because the younger boys are so young.
“The likes of Ciaran Quinn, Taylor Cassidy, Philip Doran and Josh Hay have all been at Lagan for a good few years and are all still in their early twenties.
“But they have that bit of experience and you need that in games, and that has helped us a lot.
“You have some seasoned teams in that league like Milford and Glenea, and even now on Sunday with Castlefin, they know how to get results.
“You need that experience and our older boys are doing well.”
Lagan have taken ten points from a possible twelve in recent weeks and they are playing with confidence.
However, they still have ground to make up so they can’t afford many slip-ups.
“We are away to Castlefin this week and then we have Donegal Town away after that.
“We beat Donegal Town 4-1 in Manor already but everybody is capable of beating everyone else.
“Castlefin played Donegal two weeks in-a-row and Donegal won the first week, and Castlefin beat them the following week. That’s the kind of league it is.
“We would be hoping that we have accumulated enough points now to keep us out of that relegation battle.
“It looks like Lifford and Cranford are going to go out of the division unless things change dramatically.
“I think Sunday’s result over Cappry was a big one for us because it has taken us to 23 points and kept Cappry on 15.
“If they had beaten us it would have been back to two points so that was a big three points for us.
“The next couple of games are going to be massive. It’s are you still going to be playing for something or just playing mid-table games?
“The next two are vital if we want to keep in the hunt for that third place or second.
“If we don’t get results, we will probably just be playing out our games at the end of the season.
“It’s so tight, and there are no easy games.”
Gibson has been delighted with the attitude of his players, and numbers have been that steady that training alongside their Saturday team is not a necessity.
“We actually train separately. Both teams are getting good enough numbers to train themselves.
“We had 22 at training last Tuesday night, now we had a couple of lads in.
“But the lads are buying into what we’re trying to do.
“It’s my first year of senior management and the biggest problem is picking the eleven for a Sunday.
“We have all played football and nobody wants to be a sub but we have a very good squad.
“Myself, Seamy Harkin and Glenn Gallagher have a group, and we could be an hour-and-a-half or two hours on a Saturday night going over and back on what team we will pick for a Sunday.
“It’s a headache but it’s a good one to have.”
Castlefin led the way in the second tier for most of the first half of the season but have struggled since the turn of the year.
They do have a few games in hand so could have a say in the promotion race yet. It should be a lively clash when the teams meet at Parkview today at 1pm.
“They are hard to beat at their own home ground.
“We actually played them twice at the start of the season. We met them in the Brian McCormick Cup and it went to extra-time and I thought we should have won.
“In the first league game, we played them in Manor. We were beat 4-1 that day and I just don’t know what happened. It wasn’t really a 4-1 game but maybe it was a wee bit of inexperience from us.
“But from that point on we have been competitive in nearly every game.
“The boys know what they are going up to and we are going to have to play very well to get any kind of result up there.”
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