Glentoran boss Declan Devine believes Friday night’s 3-1 victory over Linfield sets the “standard” for his side moving forward.
By far the best result since the former Derry City and Bohemians manager replaced Warren Feeney at the Oval last season, the derby victory at Windsor Park saw Glentoran make light of indifferent recent form and a poor first-half after which they deservedly trailed to Joel Cooper’s opening strike.
They were a different side after the break with goals from Jay Donnelly, Frankie Hvid and Cameron Palmer securing a first away win over the Blues since October 2022.
“We showed them too much respect in the first-half,” Devine said.
“We sat off them too much, invited pressure to come on us. We needed our goalkeeper to play well to keep us in the game.
“We needed a big performance in that second half and thankfully we were able to get it.
“It’s a really strong performance but we won’t get carried away. That’s the standard set.”
There was some dissent in the stands following last weekend’s dour 0-0 home draw with Glenavon but Devine was delighted to be able to send the visiting fans home happy this time around.
“I’ve said it since I came in, we need unity, we need the players and fans to have that togetherness,” he added.
“The fans stayed with us even when we were a goal down and I think we’ve rewarded them. They certainly enjoyed that.
“It’s about when we’re playing well, the fans staying with us, whenever we’re playing poorly, the fans staying with us, and they’ve done that.
“When everyone is pulling in the one direction, it’s an amazing football club.”