Hi °C | Lo °C Last season he scored eight in total, but amazingly on the opening day of the Carling Premiership he hit five against a defence that will not want to see a video of this match or his goals again.
As the injured Gary Hamilton watched from the stand, Fordyce picked up the goalscoring mantle.
Fordyce prefers to play more centrally and he explained: “In the last two years, the first season I played centre-midfield and I think I scored 17 goals and I got moved to right midfield because half-way through the year we sold David Scullion to Derry and I just feel that I have been filling a gap on the team rather than helping the team to win games.
“I very much enjoyed today. I had a good game up-front against Larne last week and with Gary (Hamilton) being injured Scott (Young) had the confidence in playing me up front there.
“I am glad I showed today that it is one of the most comfortable positions I play rather than playing wide. It wasn't down to me though, the whole team put in a great shift. We have been in since June 14 and have worked so hard on our fitness.
“We need to keep working on the negatives that came out today, obviously we conceded a goal and we’ll work on that in training. But we don't want to get ahead of ourselves just now. Last year we came here and won 4-0 and we didn't really come close to winning the league.”
Glentoran certainly looked fit and new signing from the Whites, Neal Gawley, caused lots of problems for his former team-mates but there was no sign of what was to come when Gary Browne fired against the Glentoran crossbar on nine minutes.
But 12 minutes later Fordyce was given the freedom of New Grosvenor to fire home by a defence that were simply shambolic when they then failed to clear, enabling Ciaran Martyn to tuck home a second on 26 minutes.
Sandwiched in between two top saves from Elliott Morris was
Fordyce’s goal of the game, a thumping 30 yard cross-goal effort a minute before half-time.
His third came from the penalty-spot on 48 minutes, he then headed home on 57 minutes before his final goal on 66 minutes. At this stage it looked like a cricket score could be on the cards but the Whites did pull a goal back from Scott Davidson (76 minutes).
Whites’ boss Tommy Wright not surprisingly lambasted his defence and added: “The disappointing thing is that people will look at the score and think that Glentoran were magnificent.
“I don’t see it that way, I see it as a case that we handed them the game. On the stats, and I know stats don’t win games, we probably had as many shots as Glentoran but we couldn’t defend to save our lives today and at times the defending was embarrassing.
“They are good players but they just made too many mistakes — they have got to realise that but if they are not strong enough to bounce back from it next week or
the week after then they won’t be in the team, that is what they have been told.
“If everybody is fit we have enough people to change things around if people don’t perform.
“I look at the day and there were a few pluses Patton, Browne did well, Scott Davidson did well when he came on, I thought Andy Hunter was our best defender but we had too many people in the defensive third making mistakes.
“That’s what cost us the game- they did not outplay us, they didn’t cut us open , what we did was hand them the game on a plate with the trimmings on it and a nice glass of red wine beside it.”
Glentoran boss Scott Young said: “I am pleased, but disappointed if I am being picky about conceding the goal which took a wee bit off the gloss off the win.
“The players have been in since June 14 and have worked very hard and I think it showed.
“They looked very fit and I have to be delighted to get off to that start.”
