The Glens narrowly lost out to Cliftonville in last season’s showpiece final in front of a bumper crowd at the Clearer Twist National Stadium
Jordan Stewart has urged Glentoran to make the most of their opportunity to reach another final when they face Coleraine in the last four of the BetMcLean Cup on Wednesday night.
The Glens narrowly lost out to Cliftonville in last season’s showpiece final in front of a bumper crowd at the Clearer Twist National Stadium. Stewart insists the desire to make it to back-to-back finals is high but he knows it will be a tough test against the Bannsiders at the BetMcLean Oval.
He said: “It’s the business end of the competition when you reach the semi-final stage, nobody wants to miss out now. The carrot of reaching the final is right in front of you and it’s one you do not want to miss out on. Nobody wants to go out at this stage.
“The Glens obviously reached the final last season and were unfortunate to lose on the day but that whetted the appetite amongst the boys to get back there.
“The BetMcLean Cup final is one of the biggest days in the football calendar, you’ve seen that with the last few finals and I know as a player everyone wants to be involved in it.
“We have the opportunity to go and do that and we will be doing our utmost to make the most of it. It won’t be easy, we know that as Coleraine are a very good side and the games between us so far the season have been very tight with only the odd goal between us.
“I’m sure it will be no different but we just have to make sure we look after ourselves and make the most of our home advantage.”
Gentoran have won both encounters against Ruaidhri Higgins’ men in the Sports Direct Premiership so far this season by the same score.
They followed up a 2-1 victory at The Showgrounds back in September with another victory at the BetMcLean Oval last month. On both occasions the Glens fought back from a goal down to seal the win with Stewart playing a starring role on the north coast with a memorable brace on the night.
He added: “That game at The Showgrounds back in September was a special one in more ways than one. We had made a good start to the new season but it was always going to be a big test for us.
“Coleraine obviously scored early on and were probably the better team for the majority of the first half. But we regrouped at half-time and Declan Devine got us going again. We dominated the second half and deservedly won the game.
“I managed to score twice in front of our fans to seal the win which was a special moment for me. I feel it also showed what we are about as a team. Not only do we have a lot of quality throughout the squad but we have a great spirit and we are prepared to dig in and fight to get a result.
“The second win over Coleraine at The Oval showed that as well. It would have been easy just to thrown the towel in after going behind in the second half but we kept going.”
The Glens were left kicking their heels in frustration at the weekend after their league clash with Cliftonville fell foul of the weather. But while there has been some inactivity on the pitch the club has been busy on it with the recent additions of Jarlath O’Rourke, Ross Clarke and Aaron McEneff.
Stewart continued: “If you’re going to be successful you need a squad that not only is full of quality but also has plenty of character and I feel that is certainly the case here.
“Obviously a few players have moved on but the boss and his staff have done some great business with the players they have brought in.”
In tonight’s other semi-final, Linfield host Ballymena United at Windsor Park in another 7.45pm kick-off.
