By Jonathan Brown
VALLEY Rangers got their season under way on Saturday with a 1-1 draw against Crewe United at Bignian Park.
The result will have pleased manager Samuel Gordon, who told the Mourne Observer ahead of the new campaign that he was determined for his side to start on the front foot and avoid a repeat of last season’s slow opening, when Valley won just three of their opening seven league games.
“I told the boys at the end of last season, if we can start this season with the team we finished with, we’ll be in a stronger position than what we were last year,” Gordon said.
“We added a lot of players throughout last season, so having everyone together from the start and having that stability hopefully means we’ll be able to start a bit quicker than we did last year.
“Everyone knows what’s happening now from the word go.”
Valley were hit hard by injuries throughout the previous campaign, and Gordon is hoping preparation and attention to detail can help reduce those problems this time around.
“A lot of players are now doing gym classes on Mondays and Wednesdays, on top of our own training on Tuesdays and Thursdays,” he explained.
“Those tiny things will maybe help throughout the year and hopefully prevent a lot of injuries.
“We struggled badly with injuries last season. Some of our best players were out for months, so hopefully we can be a bit more fortunate this year.”
However, Valley will have to begin the new season without talented young striker Adam McKibbin, who has returned to Annalong after coming through the youth ranks at Hillmount Park.
“Adam leaving was a bit of a shock to us, to be honest,” Gordon admitted.
“He’s a talented striker and we would have loved him to stay, but he’s made his decision and hopefully we’ll see him back in the future again.”
Gordon will be hoping Josh Crangle, last season’s top scorer for Valley’s reserve team, can fill the void left by McKibbin, with Ben Chestnutt also stepping up from the second team squad alongside U-16 player Daniel Graham.
The versatile Niall McCartan has also joined from Newcastle Town, while experienced defender Peter Heelam has made the move from Annalong.
Commenting on the new arrivals, Gordon said: “Niall has looked very good in pre-season. He’s bright, full of energy and technically very good on the ball.
“He’s a midfielder but can play a few other positions too, so we look forward to seeing him throughout the season.
“Peter offers us a lot more leadership in the backline and gives us a bit more competition in defence.”
Pre-season results made difficult reading for Valley supporters, with defeats against Scottish side Annbank United, Dromara Village, Sirocco Works, Rathfriland and Hanover, alongside a 5-5 draw with Newcastle Town.
But former Valley player Gordon insists those results shouldn’t be read into too much.
“There were times when we were only playing with four or five players from the first team squad,” he said.
“We started with two 15-year-olds against Rathfriland, so it’s not ideal, but it was just about getting minutes in the legs.
“Obviously you want to win every game you play, but results aren’t important in pre-season. It’s just about getting minutes and building up fitness.
“Those results aren’t to be read into because we’re only starting to get everybody back at training.”
The Mourne outfit will face a challenge to improve on an impressive third-place finish in the Mid-Ulster Intermediate A Division last season, but Gordon believes improvement is needed if Valley are to lift silverware.
Their league finish has earned them a place in the Mid-Ulster Cup, where they could potentially land a glamour away tie against Irish League opposition in the form of Dungannon Swifts or Portadown.
With Valley competing in five cup competitions this season, Gordon is keen for his side to improve on last year’s cup performances, when they exited the Irish Cup, Premier Cup and Bob Radcliffe Cup before the end of September.
“We have to improve if we want to win something,” he said.
“That’s the plan, to push everybody on another five per cent each.
“We’re in the Mid-Ulster Cup and, realistically, we aren’t going to win that, but we’ll hopefully get a good away trip.
“The other cups that we went out of in the early rounds last year, we would like to get a deeper run in those.
“With the strength in depth in the squad now, hopefully that benefits us too.”
