Glentoran secured the Co Antrim Shield after a dramatic penalty shootout victory against Larne, ending a five-year trophy drought. Manager Declan Devine revealed his tactical decision to position his players in front of the passionate Glentoran fans before the shootout, aiming to inject renewed energy and desire into his team.
Declan Devine revealed the psychological reasoning behind his decision to position his players in front of the Glentoran fans before the penalty shootout against Larne . After Andy Ryan equalized with a late penalty, the Glens faced the possibility of a penalty shootout to secure the Co Antrim Shield . Devine sensed his players were mentally and physically drained after the game was once again tied despite Charlie Lindsay's exceptional opening goal.
The Invermen dominated the closing stages, with Andrew Mills making a crucial save to deny Joe Thomson what would have been the winning goal. In a bid to revitalize his team before the shootout, Devine led them to stand in front of the passionate crowd, a tactic that proved successful as Glentoran emerged victorious, ending their five-year trophy drought. 'I felt we were out on our feet,' said Devine. 'I thought mentally we had nearly fallen away. I knew that we needed a bit of energy from a crowd just to get us over that line in penalties. 'We wanted to give the players a real desire because if the fans were going to celebrate like that and give us that noise and backing when we were only going to penalties, then the players had to imagine what it would be like if we went on to lift the trophy. 'It was just a psychological thing to try and give the players another few percent. I was delighted with the standard of the penalties and obviously Millsy made a great save. 'We were very good on the night and obviously we've gone to really difficult venues and come back from behind. Last week we found ourselves at 2-2 after being 2-0 up, but this team keeps going and digging in. 'We had a couple of legends in at the start our season before a ball was kicked and they told us and no matter what the Glentoran fans will stay with you if you're giving everything for the shirt, and that's one of our hardcore values that we give everything when we're on the pitch. You can see that about this team, they've got a bit of b***s about them.' Devine also disclosed that he had no hesitation in retaining his number two goalkeeper, Andrew Mills, who had impressed in previous rounds. 'Millsy has played every game in the Shield and I wasn't tempted to change it,' declared the Glentoran manager. 'We have two outstanding goalkeepers and we're in two finals, Dan will play in the next one if he's fit. 'Millsy deserved to play, he's been outstanding for us. I trust everybody and there's a lot of trust at the club at the minute and that's something I think we can start with. 'I trust the players, the staff and the owner and if we continue that then we can have more nights like this.
Glentoran Larne Co Antrim Shield Penalty Shootout Declan Devine Andrew Mills Football Irish League
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