Institute hoping to shock league leaders Annagh

Annagh United vs. Institute | BMG Arena | Saturday, 3pm

Institute boss Peter Hutton is taking heart from the drive of his senior players, who, he believes, are setting the standards at the club this season.

Currently, it is a frustrating spell for 'Stute, who have taken just two points from the last three games, slipping down to eighth place in the NIFL Championship as a result.

Patience is a prerequisite of the 'Stute job, with so many young players experiencing their first real taste of senior football. Last Saturday's late defeat to Newington was a case in point as key moments came and went in what was ultimately a painful lesson in not taking chances at this level. But Hutton is at least content that his senior players like Graham Crown and Shane Boyle are not letting their heads drop and setting an example for those younger players.

“Whilst it’s frustrating for the players and staff, it’s more so for the senior players, who can see the potential, but it’s just not happening at the moment in terms of goals," he said. "We’re doing a lot of right things and we have a really good environment here in the changing room, and the boys are enjoying their football, but come the end of the week, they want to get a win. Winning matches breeds confidence and sets everyone else up for the following week, so it is frustrating for the younger players, but I would say moreso for the senior players, because they ale a lot of responsibility on themselves too, and they can see the potential n the young boys. That’s the frustrating thing, that lack of consistency.”

"There are a lot of players here who could have gone elsewhere, but they’re here for the right reasons. They are good characters and good people, never mind good players, so they are here for the right reasons which is very important.”

Another important aspect of 'Stute's season to date is that they have never once been dominated by an opponent. Late goals and narrow margins have done most of the damage, and that fact is something to work with for an optimistic Hutton.

“That was literally my talk to the boys afterwards," he acknowledged. "It’s such a fine line. At 0-0, if we had capitalised on the chances we had, it’s a different game, but it’s narrow margins.”

“It’s a very competitive league and you can see in the last couple of games that if we had taken our chances, it’s a different proposition altogether, but again, every game is very competitive and we’re probably lacking that wee bit of experience in certain areas.”

Young striker Ciaran O'Hara has shown glimpses of undoubted ability so far, but last Saturday was one of frustration, as he missed a good first half opportunity before being replaced at half-time.

“Ciaran is not fully fit as yet," Hutton explained. "He’s obviously missed 18 months of football and he didn’t have a pre-season, so we’re trying to build him up and manage his minutes to try and bring him on at the right time, and he will continue to get minutes, but it’s important it’s done the right way so we don’t end up injuring him. It’s one of those whilst you’re trying to remain competitive, you’re trying to introduce a lot of young boys too to senor football.”

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'Stute are undoubted underdogs heading to the BMG Arena to face an Annagh side that are still undefeated this season, having won six of their eight games. But having done relatively well on the road this season, Hutton is not ruling his team out.

“It’s going to be another competitive game," he said. "They are top of the league and they have won a high percentage of their games. Given what I’ve seen so far in this league, it’s going to be another competitive game, but one in which we’ll still have a chance. We’re going there quietly confident that we can get a result. We have been decent away; no team has walked over the top of us, far from it. Any game we’ve participated in, it’s always been a very, very close affair.”