Josh delighted to be Mr Versatile

COLERAINE star Josh Carson admits he will play anywhere after another fine performance during yesterday’s win against Portadown…

The former Northern Ireland international proved his versatility yet again as he put in an impressive showing as the Bannsiders reached the quarter-final stage of the Irish Cup.

Carson labelled the success “as a good performance” and was thankful for Kearney’s trust in playing him in a wing-back position.

“It was a good team performance, even though we were a wee bit sloppy at times to give them half chances but it was our own doing,” he said.

“I thought we passed the ball well, we worked hard, created chances and thankfully scored the two goals to win the game and get in the hat for the next round.

“The Irish Cup is obviously the pinnacle, you look forward to playing in it like you would the FA Cup in England.

“You want to be a part of it, you want to be there on final day and you want to do your upmost for the club, the fans, for everyone as it’s a day out.

“It’s an enjoyable moment and we strive on that at the minute and thankfully we’re just in the hat.

“Playing wing-back adds another string to my bow.

“I’ve played a lot of positions under Oran and I’m just thankful he trusts me and wants me out there in the starting eleven, so I can’t really complain.

“There’s obviously boys there who won’t be happy sitting on the bench so I’m just thankful that I’m getting the time and I’m playing regardless of where it is.”

Carson added the second goal of the contest with a sweetly struck half volley after Lyndon Kane headed home the opener on the hour mark.

“Overall, today I thought to a man we were very good,” he added.

“It was like your typical Cup tie.

“Portadown’s coming here, they are a good side, strong, physical and they limited us to very little in the first-half which was a credit to them.

“The wind played a massive part in terms of the weather but I thought we were brilliant throughout as we withstood a bit of pressure and thankfully, we went up the other end and got the second goal and killed the game.

“Listen, I’ll take any goal!

“Even if it was a tap-in from two yards I’d take it and celebrate it the exact same.

“Obviously coming off the boot as flush as it did, it was brilliant and I enjoyed the moment.

“However, first and foremost, it was just getting through to the next round, get into a quarter-final and obviously the 950^th goal of Oran’s reign is always nice.”

The 28-year-old added that the Bannsiders have to simply “keep the ball rolling” as they host Dungannon Swifts on Tuesday night.

“Momentum is massive in football,” he stressed.

“We sort of stuttered there for the last six weeks and it was tough and we came into the Linfield game sort of backs against the wall but we came out and performed the way that we did and got the three points.

“It’s about keeping the ball rolling, keep moving, keep getting the three points, keep getting further in cup competitions and just enjoy your football because at the end of the day, we are very lucky.”