No recovery after ‘disastrous’ goal – Devine

Glentoran coach Declan Devine was disappointed with his side’s opening day defeat to Crusaders, admitting his side were unable to recover after conceding a “disastrous” goal.

A defensive mix-up allowed Kieran Offord to score the Crues’ debut goal midway through the first half, which was enough to seal a 1-0 victory.

“The goal really sums up the performance,” Devine told BBC Sport NI,

“It was a bit of a mixed bag in terms of the goal we conceded and I don’t think we really recovered from that.

“We had three forwards and two wingers and we didn’t test the goalkeeper enough, which is obviously a disappointing factor.”

Devine took over as Glentoran manager on an interim basis in March following the departure of Warren Feeney, and took up the permanent role in April.

“We didn’t go forward, we weren’t good enough with the ball and the goal we gave away, we let that affect us for a period of the game,” Devine added.

“We’ve said it all along — there will be ups and downs. Tonight was bad, but it’s the first game of the season. Let’s take our lessons, let’s go back and reevaluate this and we’ll go from there.”