Manager Cairns reflects on mixed fortunes for Glebe

“Football is a funny game,” commented Cairns, “To be honest Tuesday night’s game against Newington was the game we probably played the best in.

“We were very, very good and we dominated the pitch and they nicked a goal with five minutes to go and went away 1-0 winners. The sending off didn’t help and yet again we lost man. That was the third in a row which isn’t good enough. It was annoying to lose a man again and seemed somewhat harsh at the time.

“To be honest I didn’t really see it so I can’t say whether it was justified or not. It doesn’t really matter because our players need to learn not to get involved and make sure they don’t give the referee the opportunity.

“Other than that the performance was extremely good on Tuesday night.

“Saturday wasn’t so good yet we won 4-1 which is somewhat strange. I had said on Tuesday night we would probably play worse in games and win but I didn’t expect it to be proven true quite so quickly. Limavady are a decent young side and they’ve played together for a few years.

“They knocked the ball about a lot and games us the round-around at times, especially in the second half. However, we were very clinical and when we got our chances we took them.It was good to see because it was the opposite of Tuesday night.”

Reflecting on the three sendings off, Cairns added; “I don’t think Tuesday’s sending off played part in us losing.

It’s hard to say but to be honest I think we were the better team after the sending off.

“We actually took control and maybe we should have changed things, but that’s easy with hindsight.

“We went four-two-three and went and tried to win the game and we created the chance to win it and missed a golden opportunity with 10 minutes to go 1-0 up and if we had done that then we could have held on and won the game. The players responded really well to the sending off.

“We were worried it would affect us because it was the third in a row but the lads upped the ante and we dominated from there onwards. You can’t legislate for having a man sent off, players tire, legs get sore and you find yourselves up against it, so it’s not good enough. We have tried to deal with it and make the players realise they have to account for it themselves.

“We have set an example and the player who was sent off against Bangor last week was available for the squad but I sent him with the Reserves.

“They need to realise you won’t just walk back into the squad straight away. They are good players that we are losing which is a shame but they need to learn a hard lesson. It worked well for us on Saturday because the player who came in got Man of the Match so it worked well on this occasion.”

This weekend the Glebe travelled to Mid-Ulster side Lurgan Celtic who will be out to reverse the result from two weeks ago when the Glebe defeated them 4-1 in the Wasp Solution League.

“I was away when the lads played them in the cup and I’ve heard that it was a very good result but it was a game that could have gone either way. Our coaching staff and players were very impressed by them.

“They knocked the ball around very well but again we were very clinical but there’s no doubt they are going to be out to turn us over. It’s going to be a very, very tough game and we won’t under-estimate them. The previous result means nothing, we need to go there and get a league result. We need to keep going in the league but with new players coming in its hard to get the faces to all click together at the one time.

“The sendings off also means more changes. Saturday was our fifth game and our fifth different starting eleven.

“Players have to look at themselves and start to realise that they also need to take some responsibility. Lurgan will be a tough game and I will be expecting everyone to be on top of their game.”