Baxter Disappointed by Missed Penalties in ‘Horrible’ Goalless Draw

Stephen Baxter, manager of Carrick Rangers, asserted that when a team is awarded two penalties “you’ve got to score one of them.” Baxter expressed his disappointment regarding his side’s failure to convert two penalty kicks during a 0-0 Irish Premiership draw against Loughgall, a match he characterized as a “horrible game of football.” Loughgall’s goalkeeper, Nathan Gartside, successfully saved David Cushley’s spot-kick in the 58th minute. He then denied Danny Gibson’s penalty attempt five minutes before the end of regular time, with Paul Heatley subsequently sending the rebound over the crossbar. The Carrick boss commented on the overall quality of play, stating, “On the whole, the ball was in the air far too much. There was no football played.” He added, “Not one I will want to watch back any time soon. But when you get two penalty opportunities, you’ve got to score one of them and to miss both of them, we’ll be very disappointed.” Baxter also gave credit to the opposing goalkeeper, remarking, “Credit the goalkeeper. He guessed right and made two very fine saves.” Baxter further noted, “I thought we got the ball down and knocked it about better in the second half and hence we created a couple of chances and certainly the one for Danny’s penalty was a very good move where we broke the line.” He concluded his assessment by stating, “But there were very few lines broken today. Any chances were coming from set plays or a shot from outside the box or something. It was a very scrappy game of football.”