Another United approach

UPDATE
This evening’s fixture has been postponed.

Barry Gray says Cliftonville must produce another high-octane display when they tackle Ballymena United in this evening’s League Cup Semi Final at The Showgrounds.

The Reds secured Tennent’s Irish Cup progress thanks to a 4-1 victory over Crusaders at the weekend and, in calling for more of the same, Gray is well aware of the huge difference that home advantage will make for the Sky Blues.

“They’re a very difficult team to play against and they have a very good home record, so it will take something to go down there and get a positive result,” he says.

“But Saturday has shown the levels we can hit and we need to build on that now. Making it into the League Cup Final would be great for us all, but there’s a pretty big hurdle standing in our way and not many teams get the better of Ballymena in Ballymena.

“What we saw on Saturday – and it will have been obvious to everyone who was there – was how the team and supporters kept eachother going. The players know that if they go out and give their all, the fans will be there for them, so we need to take that, keep it going and try to turn that into another good result.

“We’ll go down there believing we can get the win we all want and, let’s face it, if you can’t take confidence from a result like Saturday’s then I don’t know what you can take confidence from.

“It’s another game and another tough challenge, but these are the matches you want to be involved in and you can say a lot about yourself if you win them.”