Key players out but Celtic cope well toprogress

AFTER taking a couple of body blows both in the league and the Bob Radcliffe Cup final there was a welcome return to winning ways for Lurgan Celtic manager Ciaran O’Kane last weekend.

Despite missing key players those who came in certainly impressed the Hoops boss.

“We had a number of regular players out for one reason or another but I was very pleased with those who came in and helped us get a positive result,” said O’Kane.

“With so many chances sometimes it can hinder performance but we kept a good shape and played good football to control the tie.

“It was important to keep possession and we did that very well. We created a number of chances and really only lacked that clinical touch.

“With 15 minutes to go it was still 0-0 and in the cup anything can happen at that stage. We had Ciaran Fox to thank for making a crucial save at that stage - had it gone in it could have been all so different.

“We stuck to the task and eventually the goals did come to give us the result we fully deserved.

“Now we look forward to the Irish Cup tie at Larne on Saturday and it is a game we are going there to try and win.

“There is less pressure on us in this type of game because our main target is the league and promotion. The Irish Cup is an exciting prospect to see if we can get into the last 16 which would be fantastic and a big challenge for the squad.”

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