Marcus Kane insists Glentoran have no time to dwell on their Big Two disappointment as they prepare for another Belfast derby when they face Cliftonville in the Sports Direct Premiership on Tuesday evening (Kick-off 7.45pm).
The Glens slipped to a 1-0 defeat to Linfield at the Clearer Twist National Stadium on Saturday night in a game where they had carved out the better chances.
Matthew Fitzpatrick’s goal on the hour mark condemned Declan Devine’s men to only their second league defeat since 12th December and Kane says they have to bounce back quickly.
Marcus Kane said: “Nobody likes losing games, particularly against your rivals, but the positive for us is that we created the better chances and, on another night, we come away with something from the game.
“It was a tough one to take because I felt up until the goal we were the better side. We controlled large parts of the match and looked the more likely team, but we just couldn’t make the breakthrough.
“At this level, if you don’t take your chances you can get punished, and unfortunately we gave away a sloppy goal and paid the price for it.
“There were plenty of positives in our performance. We showed again that we are a quality side with quality all over the pitch, and that’s something we have to take confidence from.
“We don’t get too high when we win and we won’t get too low after a defeat either. It’s only our second loss since mid-December, which shows the level of consistency we’ve been producing.
“The important thing now is to bounce back straight away. We have another big game coming up and it’s about responding in the right way and getting back to winning ways on Tuesday night.”
Kane knows it won’t be easy against a Cliftonville side which put its own recent woes behind them with a morale-boosting derby day win.
The Reds ran in five goals against north Belfast rivals Crusaders on Saturday and the Glentoran skipper is expecting a tough test against Jim Magilton’s side.
Kane said: “Solitude is a notoriously difficult place to go. It’s always a tough environment and you know you’re going to be in for a proper battle when you go there.
“Cliftonville showed their quality at the weekend with that win over Crusaders. Scoring five goals in a derby tells you everything about the threat they carry, and they’ll be looking to build on that against us.
“You only have to look at their squad to see the strength and depth they have, so we know exactly the level of performance it’s going to take from us.
“But for us it’s about bouncing back. We were disappointed with Saturday, but there were positives in our display and now it’s about responding in the right way.
“We need to show our quality, work hard, take our opportunities and make sure we put things right.
“If we do that, we’ll give ourselves every chance of coming away with the three points.”
