Due diligence proves key, says OK

COLERAINE boss Oran Kearney was pleased to see his triumph into the next round of the Irish Cup…

Goals from Jamie Glackin, Curtis Allen, Matthew Shevlin, Patrick Kelly, Aaron Jarvis and James McLaughlin sealed the Bannsiders’ victory at The Showgrounds.

Despite going into the game as favourites, Kearney remarked that he treated the game as serious as any other fixture this season.

“It was a case of getting the job done,” he said.

“To be fair to Windmill Stars, this was probably their Cup final today and I know it’s a cliché and everything else, but they’ve gone through Armagh City and Tobermore United which is no mean feat for a side from the Mid-Ulster League.

“We did our homework as Winkie Murphy went to watch them on Tuesday night as they had a friendly in Banbridge and we carried out our due diligence there.

“We made sure we treated this like any other game this season and we fielded as strong a team as we would have liked to be.

“To be fair to the players, they were on it from the word go.”

Kearney was equally as delighted to see Curtis Allen make his return from injury, as well as hailing Patrick Kelly for his first goal in Coleraine colours.

“It’s been a frustrating road for Curtis and big credit to him as his attitude throughout it all has been outstanding as it always is,” he continued.

“There’s very few players when they pick up an injury that they come back six or seven pounds lighter than they were pre-injury.

“To be fair to him, his attitude in all aspects of his life in relation to football and how he acts is brilliant.

“It was lovely to see him back out there and get amongst the goals.

“The hardest part of the game is putting the ball in the back of the net.

“Thankfully, we have done that today with a really good performance.

“Players weighing in with goals across the pitch is even more important.

“He’s made good progress, it’s been a good season for him so far and he’s getting a lot of minutes dotted here and there.

“Today was a nice opportunity where we could comfortably get him in there.

“It was great at the end of the game to throw him into centre-midfield and get more experience in there.

“Every minute that he gets at 17 years of age is vital for him and it’s great to see him get off the mark.”

The transfer window remains open and Kearney re-iterated that he is always on the look out for players ahead of next weekend’s trip to Portadown.

“We’re always looking for players and we’re never not trying to progress as a club,” he added.

“If the right players become available we’ll always try and do business.

“We’ve had two good resounding victories in the cups.

“Our league form and our league results in the last few weeks haven’t been where we want them to be.

“We’ve had that break now, we’re back in a New Year and we wanted to start it in the right way and we have.

“It’s important we carry that on next week.”