Dorrian dismayed by Reds’ late collapse at Knockbreda

“We went in to the fixture as massive underdogs against the joint-leaders, but we had them on the rack at 2-0 up with time running out. We thencontrived to throw it away and had to settle for a point,” he fumed.

“When we hit them with two quick late goals their fate seemed to be sealed, but fair play to them they never gave up and salvaged a point. More importantly denied us two. With more knowhow we could have retained possession in those dying minutes, but hopefully we will learn from this experience and ensure that it doesn’t happen again.”

Asked about the equaliser in added time he commented, “There is no doubt in my mind that young Jonah Nicholl was bundled over the line. All twenty players left on the pitch were in or around our penalty area when Cockroft launched his throw-in right under our crossbar. Jonah got his hands to the ball but was jostled in the scramble, and I thought that we should have been awarded a free, but that’s history now.

“Overall I was pleased with the success of our game plan. Gary Brown did a marvellous job tracking Jordan Hughes,and our back four were superb. Despite the talent Knockbreda have brought in, we were seldom under threat in normal time.

“Both teams had half-chances in the second half, but once they had two players sent off we gained momentum and I felt that at that stage the points were there for the taking.”

Comrades have no fixture this weekend, but on Tuesday 1st September they have a JBE League Cup second round tie against Coleraine at The Showgrounds.

“We were all hoping for a lucrative home draw against some of Belfast’s big guns, but we got neither, so this will be a difficult assignment, but we seem to raise our game against the better teams, so we won’t travel without hope,” he ended.

Injured players Gregg Shannon, Sandy McDermott and Michael McQuitty, along with Johnny McClurg and Stuart King should all be available for the cup tie.