Currie left disappointed with derby defeat

A Marty Donnelly hat-trick helped fire the league leaders to a 4-0 win over Carrick at Inver Park. Speaking after the game boss Niall Currie said the result highlighted where the two teams were at presently.

“Saturday ended up a disappointing day for sure,” said Currie.

“I felt for the players and our fans as it was a derby game, but it illustrated where the two clubs are at present

“Tiernan (Lynch) started rebuilding his squad halfway through last season, he was able to bring in the players he wanted, and they were settled and ready to go for the start of this season. They are full time and loaded with quality.

“Compare that to us with 17/18 new players, and a lot of young lads who have good futures ahead of them, but we are in different places at present.

“We want our squad to learn from the whole experience and get back to what we have been doing well recently.

“We know we have big games ahead now, but I know we are more than capable of getting results against every team now that we have seen them all first hand.

“The target remains the same. We want to get into this top six before the split and then see where we can go to finish the season. I know we can do this.

“Our supporters have been fantastic. It’s my job to make sure we get our foundations in place now with 18 new players and make sure we are ready to make a massive challenge for the league next season. “But we must focus our attention on getting ourselves up to the top six this season first and foremost.”