Thursday 8th July
Kick Off 6.45pm
Tomorrow night we return to European action for the second consecutive season when we face The New Saints from Wales. This will be our 101st. European match but our first in the newly launched UEFA Europa Conference.
While our opponents may not be well known to the Glentoran support, they have a solid European history of their own, having played 55 times in Europe to date. They have beaten an Irish League side in Europe before, knocking Cliftonville out 2-1 on aggregate in the 2011/12 Europa League qualifying round.
Boss Anthony Limbrick (Australian, ex-Woking manager) took over in April from Scott Ruscoe, who had delivered 2 league titles, an FAW Cup and Welsh League Cup in his 4 years in charge. They paid a record fee in January to sign striker Adam Roscrow from League 1 side AFC Wimbledon, but after Ruscoe's departure he fell out of favour and has been sent on a season loan to his old club, Cardiff MET. Roscrow has been replaced by £60k striker Declan McManus, who played for Dunfermline Athletic in the Scottish Championship last season.
Mick McDermott: “I have been pleased with our pre-season performances in the friendlies against Coleraine and Dundela. The players have all had a couple of valuable workouts, against good, competitive teams. While friendlies are essentially about gaining match fitness, it’s also nice to have got a couple of wins under our belts.
We face a strong challenge in this First Preliminary Round. The New Saints have consistent experience of European competition, having been perennial Welsh League champions during the last decade. So they will not be strangers to the pressures of this occasion.
We have done our homework on them, and we know it will be a tough test for us. They have talented and experienced players and have made a couple of key signings this past 2 weeks.
It is European competition, and the stakes are high so both teams will be well prepared and show each other respect.
We have a couple of players struggling with injury, a couple of medical issues and Seanan Clucas suspended for the first leg. But that’s the benefit pf having a good-sized squad. I am looking forward to the match and our team is ready to play. We are also excited to have our loyal fans back in the Oval. I know they will be well be vocally behind us right from the start. It’s disappointing that restrictions are still in place, but we know the support we will receive both at the Oval and from those watching at home.
As there were a limited number of tickets available for this match, supporters are reminded that they can access our GlensTV live stream of the match by signing up here. Live match coverage can be purchased for £10 (which includes access to a full replay of the action), while a delayed stream will cost £4. Remember, our stream will commence just after 6.15pm with a match preview programme, and our match commentator Aaron Agnew will be accompanied as co-commentator by our legendary, quadruple title winning skipper Paul Leeman.
Please be considerate to local residents at tomorrow’s match and do not under any circumstances park in the side streets around the Oval.
