After a season of toil and frustration, Alex Cruickshank believes West End Hibs proved their mettle on Saturday.
The Drumcoo outfit have been wedged in a relegation battle in recent weeks but prised a precious point out of Hillsborough Boys to boost their survival prospects in Division Two.
They had to do it the hard way, being reduced to 10 men early in the game and coming from behind late on to earn a spirited 3-3 draw.
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Cruickshank’s season has been punctuated by selection issues, with players either being injured, suspended or unavailable.
The inconsistency has plagued a campaign that initially promised so much more.
“At the start of the season we were aiming high. We were very optimistic with the squad we had,” Cruickshank (inset) told Match on Tuesday.
“But then we started losing a couple of important players, and our top scorer over recent seasons had a bad hamstring injury that required surgery.
“We also had boys who called it quits because of work commitments. With the cost of living going up you can’t blame players for putting work first.
“But we are where we are and we have two more games to make sure we stay in the division. Saturday’s draw against a good Hillsborough team has given the lads a lot of confidence.
“Especially losing a man so early on, and the fact they hit us for seven at our place earlier in the season. We knew it would be a tough game, so to come away with a point in the way we did was very encouraging.
“We also had a couple of teenagers in the team who did so well.
“We had lost five games prior to Saturday, so to earn a point is positive. A lot of those games we lost were strange games. We made a lot of stupid mistakes.
“But the performances weren’t as bad as the scorelines maybe suggest.”
West End Hibs earned their point on Saturday thanks to a Dalaigh Jones hat-trick.
They led twice but were pegged back both times by Hillsborough who then took the lead themselves to make it 3-2.
But Jones completed his hat-trick with five minutes to go to rescue a point for Cruickshank’s men.
“It was a spirited performance, especially after going down to 10 men so early on. So the boys did well to dig in,” Cruickshank added.
“It was a deliberate hand ball on the line, but it was pure instinct.
“Dalaigh got the hat-trick to help us earn the point, including the winner near the end. It was a big goal for us and an important point for us.
“The lads had to show a lot of character on Saturday, and it has been a tough season.
“We haven’t been able to get the same back four and goalkeeper. It has been chopping and changing most weeks, and we have had injuries and a couple of older players packing it in completely. We also lost a couple of key players to other clubs.
“We have had a little bit of everything.
“Before Covid struck, we were sitting top of the league and in the semi-final of the cup. We were on course to get promoted.
“But this season we just haven’t been able to field a consistent team. Players have other commitments as well including work, and many of them play GAA.
“It is what it is and these are the things you have to deal with. We have managed to bring a few young lads through who have stepped up and done well.”
Their next assignment is a big relegation clash with bottom club Moira on Saturday, with anything other than a defeat guaranteeing Hibs’ survival this season.
Cruickshank added: “We have two games remaining including Moira this weekend who are bottom. That is a huge game for both clubs.
“Mathematically they can still catch us, but if we win then we will stay up. That’s a big incentive.
“After Moira we have Armagh Celtic who are sixth in the table. So we will give it our all.
“It has been a strange season with teams beating each other. We started quite well and then lost games we shouldn’t have lost, but I think chopping and changing the squad didn’t help us."
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