Coach hails battling spirit of United side

The former Northern Ireland international was delighted with the team’s commitment in battling right to end and forcing a stoppage time goal from Gary Thompson.

“We had played on Tuesday night and there had been fantastic commitment given by the players then,” said Doherty.

“Glentoran were that bit fresher as their midweek match was off but our boys showed a great desire not to give in.

“Dwayne Nelson made a fantastic save which would have made it 2-0 and probably game over at that stage but we still had the belief we could get something out of the game.

“Dwayne made a brilliant save in the first half but the one near the end kept us in the game and gave us the opportunity to go up the other end and get the equaliser.

“Endeavour, commitment and passion sometimes get you through in this game and we’re delighted that it did.

“We’ve had a great response from the players since the Colerainen game.

“We certainly put enough in to ensure that we got something out of the game and we got what we deserved in the end.

“Sometimes you look at performances. You can play well and still not win a game.

The Coleraine game was very much the exception to the rule because it was a poor performance, poor result, just poor all round so it’s good to come back from that.

“The performances of players like Johnny Taylor and Gary Thompson epitomises what we’re trying to instill in this team.

“These guys just keep going and keep going and that’s what we need to grind out results,” added Lee.