Declan Devine hails 'special place' as Glentoran dig in to repay the fans with 'Big Two' win

Declan Devine couldn't hide his pride as 10-man Glentoran dug in to record a deserved victory over Linfield.

Marcus Kane's goal in first half stoppage time lit up an opening 45 minutes where chances were at a premium.

The Glens had to dig deep and show their battling qualities after teenager James Douglas was shown a second yellow before the hour mark.

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They did that superbly roared on by a passionate home support who cheered every tackle like it was a goal. Skipper Kane and his teammates put their bodies on the line to make sure they picked up the points which saw them move level with Cliftonville and Ballymena United in the table.

“The players deserve all the credit, I’m so proud of them,” said a beaming Devine after the game. “I challenged them after last week’s poor performance against Portadown, they were hurting as much as anyone else. They owed a magnificent support a performance.

“I thought we were very good in the first half and probably should have had a couple more goals. But the goal scorer epitomised our performance – our captain was magnificent. When we went down to 10 men, it was about giving everything for the shirt.

“Everyone threw their body on the line, I thought we defended incredibly well. Linfield are top of the table for a reason, so to be able to soak up so much pressure and deal with everything they threw at us, every single member of our squad should take huge credit.

“I’m only here at the football for a short period of time, but this place was shaking at one stage. That’s what we want...we want the fans and the players to have that bond.

“When the fans see the effort of the players and the players feed off the help from the fans; when it all comes together, this is a very special place. It was a very special place for the last half-hour – we had outstanding performances from everyone. When we had to dig in, we dug in.”

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Devine's only grumble came after Douglas' was sent off with the Glentoran boss believing it was a harsh call on the teen.

“I didn’t think he deserved it.” he added. “His foot is not that high of the ground in the middle of the pitch. In many ways, it probably ends up a better victory because we were down to 10 men.”

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