INSTITUTE: Deery fuming after draw

Institutes Michael McCrudden scored their opening goal at Ballyclare Comrades, on Friday night.

Deery felt his side were in complete control thanks to Michael McCrudden and Stephen O’Donnell’s goals but the minute Comrades pulled a goal back through Michael McQuitty his team got ‘edgy’.

“Once we conceded the first goal we got edgy and panicked a bit,” he said.

“That’s five goals we have conceded this season, two away to Warrenpoint, two at Ballyclare and one against Welders and the type of goals we are conceding are poor.

“I keep saying to players if you are serious about anything we have to get more leaders and defend better. The first goal looked like a really soft goal from a corner, which should have been defended.

“At 2-0 at half-time it was good and we had controlled the game until 65 minutes but we didn’t have fluency in our passing, then they started to hit a lot of high balls and we were adapting OK, until we conceded the goal and then you could see a nervousness creeping into our game.

“It was the exact same way as we had them rattled in the first half, but when we conceded the goal we got rattled and that’s three second half performances now aren’t what they should be.

“So I have to go and re-evaluate and see if maybe it’s early in the season.”

Deery was also quick to point out that Stute had enough clear cut opportunities to kill the game off at Dixon Park, but they didn’t take them and that’s what also cost them.

“Look arguably we could have been 4-0 up and then in the second half young Ryan Doherty square’s a lovely ball to Michael (McCrudden) but he slipped it wide and that’s the game, we get the third it’s game over,” he added.

“They can’t come out and play long against us because they’ll have to come up with something different once you get the third goal, but we didn’t get that third goal and as I said once they scored we looked nervous.

“So that’s something we’ll work on that’s for sure and we’ll work on defending balls because we know what this league is about; we have spoken about it and we do a lot work on it.

“We have talked about a lot of direct balls coming into the box and then making sure we win the second ball.

“That’s what happened for their second goal; Stephen O’Donnell has made a great header cleared it 10-12 yards but no one gets to the second ball and while it took a deflection I feel it was definitely avoidable.

“When your centre-half put his neck on the line and clears it 10-12 yards the second phase has to be defended again.”