‘We absolutely love him’: Gary Haveron feels Larne star ‘a great example of resilience’ after returning in style
By Johnny Morton
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The 22-year-old striker suffered a broken collarbone during a loan spell at Dungannon Swifts and missed a large portion of last season through an illness which was ultimately diagnosed as reactive arthritis. Lusty opened the scoring in Saturday’s 2-0 Premiership win over Carrick Rangers, marking his third league goal of the season and second in as many games. Here’s what Haveron had to say after watching his side extend their unbeaten run to seven matches and collect a sixth consecutive clean sheet. ANOTHER WIN, ANOTHER CLEAN SHEET – MUST BE DELIGHTED? “I love clean sheets, I absolutely love them! “I think a clean sheet is the sign of a team that’s fighting for each other, playing for each other, and it’s a really good sign when you get so many of them in a row. “It doesn’t just come from the defenders and the goalkeeper, who have been brilliant, by the way, absolutely brilliant, it comes from each and every one of them, from the strikers all the way throughout the team and the ones that come off the bench. “Everybody has to contribute towards a clean sheet, so that really pleases me from that perspective. “It was nice to get a goal in each half as well because it gave us the cushion that we wanted to have in the game. “We knew we had to break them down, because we knew how stubborn and how determined they would be to try and nullify us. “So to get the goal early meant that we weren’t chasing the game, but when we got the second goal, that really killed it and I could sort of relax and enjoy the last 10 minutes or so.” CLEAN SHEETS HAVE BEEN THE BACKBONE OF LARNE’S RECENT SUCCESS? “You continue to pick up points when you don’t concede goals. It’s a cliché, but it’s very true. “We’ve always given ourselves a chance in any game, because we’re a threat. We’re a big threat in any game. “If we can get one side right and we look after the other, then it bodes well that we’ll get a lot of positive results.” DO YOU SEE CONFIDENCE BUILDING IN THE CHANGING ROOM? “We’ve just got a really good bunch of lads. “We were excellent in Europe this year. We were really, really good. Our shape, our discipline and our ball retention was excellent, and I think we’ve taken a lot of confidence from that. “If we can go to Auda and Prishtina and get results, if we can go toe-to-toe with Santa Clara, then we know that the Irish League is a different type of challenge, but it’s a challenge we know we can meet head on. “We took a lot of confidence from it and we continue to build.” MATTY HAS HAD A TOUGH TIME WITH INJURY AND ILLNESS – HE SEEMS TO BE LOVED AROUND THE CLUB? “We love Matty, we absolutely love him at this football club. “He came here as a 16-year-old…you see the young man that he’s grown into, the confidence that he carries himself with. “Matty’s had an unbelievable amount of setbacks in terms of ankle injuries, he broke a collarbone, he had a really bad illness last year where he missed most of the season. “But what he’s always done is react in the right way, in the most positive way, and he’s a great example for any kid of resilience. “When he has had these setbacks, he’s used the time really productively. He’s got himself bigger, he’s developed into a different kind of specimen, I suppose, physically. “So he’s actually used the time really, really productively. He’s not felt sorry for himself. “He says ‘I’m going to make myself better, I’m going to come back stronger’ and each time that he’s had a setback, he’s come back more robust and more stronger for it. He’s a kid that I can’t say enough good things about.”