‘His work ethic is phenomenal': Linfield boss David Healy hails his new star man after Euro joy

Belfast Telegraph

2 days ago

Kieran Offord celebrates scoring his stunning goal for Linfield
The 21-year-old, who joined the Blues from Scottish side St Mirren in January following a successful five-month loan spell with Crusaders, lit up Windsor Park on Thursday with a stunning goal against FK Zalgiris, helping his team book a slot in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League.
Star man Joel Cooper may have left Linfield in the summer to take up a new challenge with big-spending Coleraine, but Offord has the potential to become the new darling of the Blues' faithful.
It wasn't only his goal that had the fans drooling on Thursday, but his overall performance – on and off the ball – he tied the Lithuanian side in knots at times.
Matthew Fitzpatrick got the Blues off to the best possible start by heading them in front after only six minutes before Offord unloaded a stunner from 25 yards, which arrowed into the bottom corner. Read more
It could have been much more comfortable for Healy's boys because the usually reliable Chris Shields fluffed his lines from the penalty spot in the first half.
'Kieran produced a bit of individual brilliance when we needed it with our second goal,' stated former Northern Ireland international striker Healy.
'At the time, I thought he was going to try and slide Fitzy (Fitzpatrick) in, but he showed great belief in his own ability to score a brilliant goal.
'He is a pleasure to work with; Kieran is a wonderful young man with so much natural ability. Once he learns to develop the rest of his game; the other parts of his game that needs tidied up, he'll become a top player.
'His work ethic is phenomenal… we all witnessed that against Zalgiris. His desire and his hunger to improve is there. I firmly believe once everything clicks for him, we'll have a heck of a player on our hands.'
Kieran Offord impressed for Linfield against Zalgiris
Healy admits he's always been an admirer of the Scottish Under-19 international.
He added: 'I watched Kieran playing for Crusaders when he just joined them. He was up against the Welsh team (Caernarfon Town), in a European game.
'He was a little bit raw… he probably had a few question marks, but I turned to Willie McKeown (Linfield head of recruitment), after about an hour and said to him, that boy is going to have a chance.
'He started the season well for the Crues and scored a lot of goals. I knew about his ability, but what impresses me is his desire to improve.'
Healy insisted it was a shrewd business move by the club when Offord and Callumn Morrison arrived at Windsor Park in the January transfer window. Read more
'It's probably the first time we've done that,' he went on. 'There were probably a few raised eyebrows, inside and outside the football club, when we conducted our transfer business in January.
'At that time, we had built up a 15 or 16-point lead at the top of the League table. It looked to everyone else like it was just a matter of time before we won the title, although it wasn't as obvious to me.
'The important thing about getting Kieran and Callumn to the club at that time was to give them three or four months, basically as a pre-season. They played some games, they missed some games and, at times, they basically had a watching brief.
'It was important for them to get a feel for me; to get a feel for the rest of the players instead of coming in over the summer and having two-and-a-half or three weeks before the European games.
'I wanted the new lads to be acquainted with the group of players. Yes, we lost in the Champions League (to Shelbourne), but the boys (the squad) are getting fitter – I think that was evident against Zalgiris.
Linfield manager David Healy applauds the Blues fans after victory at Windsor Park
'The win was fully deserved. There were moments in the game, if we had been a little bit tidier, it could have been a bit more convincing.'
Linfield will now face Faroese side Vikingur Gota in the third qualifying round – the first leg will be in Iceland next Thursday.
'We feel we have an opportunity, although it's going to be a tough game,' added Healy. 'It's certainly not an impossible task… it's probably a 50-50 game.
'We have been to the Faroes before… it was HB Torshavn a few years back. It doesn't give us much time, but I don't mind that.
'We have a team that gets to work right away. We came off the back of the Shelbourne game, but within 24 hours we were doing our homework on Zalgiris.
'I enjoy that, so does the staff. From a coaching aspect, it's good development, good learning. People like Ross (Oliver), George (McCartney), and Lindsay Corry, we all get our heads together to set out what we want to do. It's always key in terms of how we set up.
'We are not going to get to see Vikingur before we play them next week, so we must rely on footage. I know they lost their first game in the Champions League, so we'll assess that, move forward and try and progress.'