Mick McDermott says a sustained round of applause for bereaved brothers Jay and Rory Donnelly at Seaview was a “nice touch” at the end of a difficult week for the Glentoran strikers.
The Donnelly siblings, whose mother passed away on Thursday after a period of illness, were absent for Friday night's 2-1 win over Crusaders.
But they weren’t far from the thoughts of their teammates and supporters who paid a special tribute in the ninth and 10th minutes of the game.
“The round of applause came in minutes nine and 10 because Jay wears the number nine shirt and Rory the No10,” said McDermott.
“I heard that our supporters were going to conduct a round of applause and it was a nice touch.
"It was also nice to see some of the Crusaders supporters applauding."
McDermott says he will give the Donnelly brothers time and space to decide if they are available for Tuesday night’s league clash with Coleraine at the BetMcLean Oval.
“The funeral is on Monday and we will leave it up to Jay and Rory to decide if they want to be part of our plans or take a few days to themselves,” he said.
“It has been a really difficult time for them and as a club we have left that decision to them in recent weeks.
“For example, we didn’t know if they would be available for Dergview in the Irish Cup or Cliftonville on Monday night. We actually didn’t know until they arrived at the stadium.
“The fact they turned up to play those two games of football in the circumstances and given everything they have been through, they deserve huge respect.”
Friday night's win at Seaview kept Glentoran second in the table, hot on the heels of Big Two rivals Linfield at the summit.
