Saturday 29th May 2021, Kick Off 5.30pm
Following our achievement of securing European qualification with a match to spare, we end our season tomorrow we end our season with the visit of Crusaders to the Oval.
Matches at the Oval this season have seen a 1-0 win for each side - the Glens winning the last league encounter thanks to Jay Donnelly's spectacular injury time lob over goalkeeper Sean O'Neill and Crusaders winning the Irish Cup Quarter Final 2 weeks ago via Billy Joe Burns' first half header from a corner.
In the 2 weeks since the Cup tie, the Crues have gone on to lose the Semi Final against Larne on penalties, lost 1-0 at home to Coleraine in the league and came within seconds of losing at. North Belfast rivals Cliftonville on Tuesday before David Cushley earned them a draw with practically the last kick of the game. Certain to finish 6th (and on a much lower points total than 7th and 8th placed sides Glenavon and Ballymena) and without a trophy, it has been a massively disappointing campaign for manager Stephen Baxter and his vastly experienced squad. They will now hope to at least salvage European qualification via the end of season play-offs to join ourselves and Coleraine in next season's competition.
Striker Jordan Owens was forced off early on Tuesday (to be replaced by goalscorer Cushley) and could be an injury doubt. Defenders Chris Hegarty and Aidan Wilson have been long term absentees while wingers Paul Heatley and Ross Clarke were unused subs at Solitude - Heatley has long been a scourge of Glentoran defences and may be recalled to the side if Baxter decides to shuffle his pack with the play-off fixtures in mind.
Mick McDermott: “I can’t speak too highly of our players for their performance at Larne on Tuesday night. Obviously, we were disappointed to go out of the cup recently, but Europe is always a massive target for clubs in this league and it’s no exaggeration to say there are eight teams in the division good enough to have reasonably held that ambition this season. So in such a strong league it’s a great achievement by the players to have achieved that over a tough 37 matches and to have done it with a game to spare. No one relishes the play offs so I’m very glad we were good enough to avoid that. European qualification is massive for the prestige and standing club and for the strength it gives clubs in attracting players and holding onto its best players. So a second consecutive European run is great for Glentoran on many levels, and of course it’s a great boost for our very deserving fans.
The lads played very well at Larne and did absolutely everything that was asked of them. We dominated the game, particularly in the first half and our workrate and control of the ball was of the highest standard. Larne are a very good side and I thought we forced them to change their game plan. We were very solid at the back and in midfield and seeing all three forwards involved in Conor’s goal was very positive.
The other thing about Tuesday night is that Marcus, Robbie, Cricky and Dayle all came back after a few weeks out and they all put in a great shift and made an exceptional contribution to the win. That is the benefit of having as strong and talented a squad as ours and it’s a benefit we expect to see a lot more of next season.
As this is the last day of the season, I would like to say thank you to the small army of employees and volunteers who remained fully committed to the club throughout all the challenges and uncertainties of the past year and a half. All of us on the playing and coaching sides of the club appreciate the support we are given every week as we have worked to professionalise Glentoran. To our supporters who have been deprived of the opportunity to watch their team in person so often this season, thank you for your loyalty and I look forward to seeing as many as possible of you back at the Oval when we start our European campaign in July”.
Prior to the game the officers of Castlereagh Glentoran Supporters Club will present the award to the winner of the Glentoran Player of the Year 2020-2021
While we are delighted to have 500 of our supporters back at the Oval tomorrow, unfortunately only season holder groups B and C will be admitted to the night’s match. Supporters are reminded that they can access our GlensTV live stream of the match by signing up or signing in here. Live match coverage can be purchased HERE for £7 (which includes access to a full replay of the action), while a delayed stream will cost £3. Remember, our stream will commence just after 5.00 with a match preview programme, and our match commentator Aaron Agnew will be accompanied as usual by our legendary, quadruple title winning skipper Paul Leeman. Group A and season ticket holders not able to attend the game will have free access to the stream as usual.
