Paddy’s think tank

Paddy McLaughlin believes Cliftonville have “more in the tank” after booking a place in the quarter-finals of the League Cup with last night’s 6-0 victory over Carrick Rangers.

After the weekend’s hat-trick hero Rory Hale opened the scoring, younger brother Ronan plundered a treble of his own before teeing Jamie McDonagh up for the fifth and then completing the scoring himself on what McLaughlin toasted as a satisfactory evening at Solitude.

“The main objective was to get through to the next round so we’re delighted with that,” reflected the Manager.

“It was maybe a bit of a harsh scoreline on Carrick because they worked really hard, especially in the first-half when I thought they kept their shape really well and limited us to leave us a bit frustrated at times.

“The goals came at the right times for us but, in the second-half, I think we went through the gears a lot quicker. We moved the ball a lot quicker and some of the goals we scored were excellent, so we’re delighted. We know how tough Carrick are to play against and how difficult they are to beat. They had a few boys missing in fairness to them, so I wouldn’t be reading too much into the scoreline, but we came here to get through to the next round and we’ve done that.”

McLaughlin also saluted the contribution of Ronan Hale and joked that the Club’s supply of matchballs could be a growing concern if the team’s run of hat-tricks continues.

“Ronan scoring four was brilliant for him because Rory was starting to get carried away with himself there for a couple of days, thinking he was the main man in the house,” he added. “Now Ronan’s reminded us that he’s the goalscorer of the family.

“The two of them have been brilliant. Ronan’s been superb since we brought him in, he scores goals, he assists, he’s direct, he’s hard to play against and terrifies defenders. His run of form since he’s come to the Club has been superb.”

“I think the Club are looking me to take boys off after they’ve scored two goals because they’re worried about all these hat-tricks, but it’s brilliant for the team, it’s brilliant for the Club and I’m sure the supporters are enjoying what they’re seeing at the minute but I do believe there’s a lot more to come from us.

“That’s not being critical of our boys, I just believe we have got more in the tank, we have got more about us and hopefully we’ll show that.”