Kieran Offord’s Loan Spell at Crusaders Boosts Confidence

Crusaders forward Kieran Offord has stated that his time playing in the Irish Premiership has given him renewed vigor and elevated his confidence to unprecedented levels. This follows his treble that helped Crusaders defeat Dungannon Swifts in their BetMcLean Cup quarter-final. The 20-year-old, currently on loan from Scottish Premiership side St Mirren, has scored eight league goals so far this season. He also netted a hat-trick earlier this month, securing his team’s advancement to the semi-finals of the BetMcLean Cup at the expense of Dungannon Swifts. His first goal of the campaign came on the opening day of the new term in August, contributing to the Crues’ 1-0 victory over Glentoran at the Oval in Declan Caddell’s inaugural game as manager of the north Belfast club. The two teams are scheduled to meet again at Seaview on Friday night in a match that will be broadcast live on BBC iPlayer and on the BBC Sport website and app. “I’m probably the most confident I’ve been on the back of a poor season for me last year,” explained Offord. He added, “Both loans [at Edinburgh City and Stirling Albion] never really worked out so I thought this was almost make or break as my confidence was so low. Now it’s probably the highest it has been.” Offord further commented, “In pre-season I wasn’t exactly doing great but the manager still put his faith in me and instilled in me that he knew I was a good player and that I would score goals. He’s given me the most minutes I’ve had in my career so far.” Offord sought advice from fellow St Mirren player Fraser Taylor before choosing to follow his path by undertaking a loan period in the Irish Premiership. Taylor was a standout performer in a Ballymena United squad that struggled last season, only securing Premiership status through an end-of-season play-off. Offord recounted, “I spoke to Fraser quite a lot. He’s probably my closest mate back home at St Mirren and when he was on loan last year I was in touch with him every week asking how he was enjoying it and he really enjoyed his time over here.” He continued, “It was difficult for him as Ballymena last season were struggling a little bit.” Offord quoted Taylor as saying, “He told me it was a tough league, physical, but he did say I would do well in it due to my pace and other attributes.” While Offord could be recalled by his parent club in January, he appears keen to prolong his stay at Seaview to further his development. He expressed, “I’ve told everyone how much I’m enjoying my loan spell, how much it’s been making me a better player and obviously scoring goals and growing in confidence in a good league with a good standard of football.” Offord added, “I think if I got a full season under me of doing what I’m doing it would benefit me a lot better in the long run.” He concluded this thought by stating, “It’s my first loan where I’ve been away and I’m seeing the boys every day near enough. The environment is brilliant and that is probably why I’m doing well.” The Crusaders striker anticipates a higher quality contest on Friday compared to the largely dull season opener between the two sides. Glentoran currently sits fifth in the table, one place and one point above the Crues, who have two games in hand over their opponents on Friday. Offord reflected, “In the first game of the season it was always going to be a bit frantic, there wasn’t a lot of football played.” He continued, “Both of us have kicked on since then and put better performances together so hopefully Friday night will be a good game.” Offord added, “Both teams should go into the game full of confidence. The start of the game might be a wee bit hectic, we need to win our fight and then get the ball down and try and play. We need to be in their faces and make it hard for them.”