Glentoran 'stuck at it' during win over Linfield

Glentoran assistant manager Tim McCann said the Glens had to "show a reaction" during their 3-1 win over Linfield in the County Antrim Shield opening round after a tough weekend in the Irish Premiership.

The Glens were aiming to respond after their disappointing 2-1 defeat by Crusaders at the Oval and made a bright start against the Blues with Jordan Jenkins netting twice in the opening six minutes.

However, during a much tighter second half, Charlie Chapman's strike halved their advantage before Cal Weatherup restored the two-goal cushion in the closing stages.

"A win is all you can ask for. It doesn't matter what kind of team Linfield put out, it's always difficult," McCann told BBC Sport NI.

"We had to come flying out of the traps and show a reaction from the result at Windsor and Saturday's performance. We needed to step up.

"Jordan Jenkins scores a couple and maybe could have got another couple after that but I think you have to give credit to Linfield and the young lads that played. They came out and fought for everything and did cause us problems.

"We stuck at it, we conceded which was disappointing, but it was good to get the third one, wrap it up, and get into the next round."

Meanwhile Linfield manager David Healy said his side "showed a lot of resilience" during the defeat.

The result means the Blues' wait for their first County Antrim Shield success since 2017 continues.

"We didn't start the game well, and it was a little bit concerning after five minutes when you find yourself two down against a pretty strong Glentoran team," Healy told BBC Sport NI.

"However, credit to the players, they hung in, they stuck in, they clawed themselves back into the game, and they showed a lot of resilience"

"In general, considering it was a strong Glentoran side and we had a really youthful team, I couldn't be more pleased for some of them tonight."