Institute host Annagh today hoping to take one giant step closer to the title
Kevin Deery and his players two points off the top with just three games left
Institute vs. Annagh United
Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium
Today, 3pm
Kevin Deery wants his team to rediscover their defensive stubbornness to give them the best possible chance of winning the Championship title in the coming weeks.
Down to the final three games of the season, Institute are right in the mix at the top of the table, sitting in third place just two points behind leaders Portadown, who they face on the final day of a fascinating campaign.
Results last weekend means that any one of three teams have a realistic chance of being crowned champions, and three cup finals remain before a winner will be decided.
‘Stute had a brilliant 4-3 win at Dundela last weekend, but Deery wants his team to improve defensively, and quickly. ‘Stute managed three clean sheets in four league games in March, but so far in April, they have conceded five goals in two games, and Deery knows that can’t continue.
“We can't keep giving away goals that we've been giving away,” he insisted. “Although we’ve claimed four points from six, we weren't leaking any goals and now in the last two games we've leaked a few goals so we have to get focused and try and not give anybody chances to take what we’re trying to do away from us and if we keep leaking goals we're going to lose games.”
‘Stute could hardly have had a more difficult opponent than Annagh today, a team very much in form having beaten both Dundela and Portadown in recent weeks. ‘Stute have also failed to beat Annagh in three attempts this season, managing just two points from a possible nine against them.
“Since the turn of the year, they have only lost one game,” Deery continued. “They have drawn two since January and they've won the rest so they're bang on form. It's going to be a ding-dong of a game but we want to try and get three points out of it.
“We drew twice with them and we lost to them at home. As a group, I think it's the only team we haven't defeated this year so there'll be motivation from them to stay in the title race as well because they're in such good form. They went to the champions elect last week and won 4-2 and then they managed to go to one of their rivals and won 4-3 so it has the potential for a good game but we have to be far more defensively solid.”
Accomplishment
Scoring four goals at Dundela last week – with four different goal scorers – was a real accomplishment for ‘Stute, who were not only missing influential striker Mikhail Kennedy, but other key players such as Danny Lafferty, Shaun Leppard, Evan Tweed and Shane McGinty. All but Kennedy could be in line for a return against Annagh, but one thing is for sure – ‘Stute have goal scorers all over the pitch, and certainly don’t rely on one person.
“I think it would be interesting, but in the second part of the season when we sort of sussed out the league, I would imagine our goal tally has been a lot greater than it had been coming up to the transfer window,” Deery considered. “We've managed to find ways of winning games and we've started to score more frequently. Long may that continue but I would love to get back to keeping them out.
“I think everyone prides themselves on being rock solid and hard to beat, so we have to get back to that this week but I’m not taking away from my players.
“I’m not taking anything away from the players and what they’ve achieved because in the last four games have been sensational so we have to keep that going.”
‘Stute have won their last three away games, but won just one of their last four home games, and that is anther area that needs to improve quickly if ‘Stute are to give themselves the best possible chance of gaining promotion back to the Premier Division.
“Before the split we were away to Bangor and away to Welders, really strong teams in this division. Obviously then we were away to Dundela and we've claimed nine points. We want to translate that into our home form now,” Deery stated.
“We have two home games that we want to try our best to get maximum points but it's not going to be easy. We've shown we can win tight games so that's what we'll be hoping for on Saturday. It'll be a tight game but hopefully we can find a way to win them and get all three points and you're down to the last fortnight now.”