If you were going to pick a time in the history of Glentoran to sign for the club, safe to say it wouldn’t have been December 2013. We were the Irish Cup holders, but in the seven months following the final, that team had lost quality players of the level of Colin Nixon, Stephen Carson, Andy Waterworth and Sean Ward, with Jimmy Callacher and Richard Clarke about to leave in the upcoming window. The club was mired in historic debt and top players were hard to tempt to East Belfast.
But that’s the club 25-year old Curtis Allen joined, and over the six years since, he has consistently provided some of our greatest moments in what was a very challenging period for Glentoran. Scoring 110 goals for the club, averaging exactly 20 goals per season in a team that never finished above half way in any of his full seasons, scoring the goal that put us into the Irish Cup Final in 2015, scoring in all three of our victorious Europa League playoff semi-finals and in two of our three unsuccessful finals at Solitude. Curtis was a scorer of big goals for Glentoran, right from his debut Irish Cup double at Portadown to his last goal, at Mourneview Park in out playoff semi-final win over Glenavon last May. He scored for Glentoran against nineteen teams, including seven against Crusaders and six against both Linfield and Cliftonville, the three teams to have dominated the league title in his time at the Oval. No wonder he was so constantly in demand, each time staying at the club that had taken to him so well.
Curtis signs for the club and Eddie Patterson
Mick McDermott: “Curtis has been a great servant to the club. There’s never a good time for a player like Curtis to leave a club he’s served so well, but in every career, there is a time to take a new opportunity. Several clubs had been interested in Curtis and he has secured his future with a 2-year deal at Coleraine. I wish him all the best and I’m sure we will see more goals from him in the Premier League”.
Eddie Patterson, the manager who brought Curtis to the Oval, and who featured Curtis in his second Irish Cup winning team, said to www.glentoran.com at the weekend: “I was successful in signing Curtis at the second attempt as I heard there was a chance of him leaving Coleraine, I made an enquiry but on speaking to Curtis he wanted to give full time football another go, this time in Scotland and I respected that and backed off but kept a close eye on developments. He moved to Scotland but didn’t get the game time he wanted because of a back injury and as I noticed he wasn’t in the team because of this I made contact again to see what his plans were. Thankfully he came to Glentoran and we got everything we expected of him as a player and a person. In the time both of us were at the club he worked as hard as I expected him to and scored the goals, I expected him to score. Curtis guaranteed 20 plus goals a season, he has done that regularly for Glentoran, but unfortunately his time at Glentoran coincided wither the financial difficulties I had to contend with at the time. He never once let me or the club down and has been a fantastic servant to Glentoran even after I was sent packing. I have no doubts he will continue scoring goals at his new club and wish him the very best for the future, great person and great player and goal scorer.”
Irish Cup Semi-Final winner v Crusaders 2015
Curtis spoke to us on Monday evening:” It’s been a very surreal few days since I signed for Coleraine. My phone was red hot all weekend with Glens supporters wishing me all the best. I haven’t had a single negative comment from anyone which really pleased me after six years at the Oval. While it’s sad to leave a club I’ve loved playing for, it was ideal to get a few minutes on the pitch last week against Glenavon. I was very moved at the reception I got from the big support that night. While we didn’t know it was a goodbye it was still fitting that it happened that way. I’ve loved my entire time here. Even though the club has had its inevitable ups and downs, I’ve loved pulling on the shirt, scoring goals and making so many good friends at the club and in the supporters’ clubs.
I’ve had plenty of highlights at Glentoran – from my debut at Portadown in the Irish Cup, through winners against Linfield both home and away and of course winning the Irish Cup in 2015. I suppose my most important memory is scoring the winner in our cup semi final that year against Crusaders at Mourneview. No one gave us a chance that year with the Crues looking good for the double at that point. I’ll never forget that.
Irish Cup Final 2015
In terms of disappointments I’d have to say it was losing those three playoff finals after such big wins in the semis. Its not a personal disappointment but one for the club. We came close in those games but if we’d won even one of them, we’d have been in Europe and that would have set the club up financially. Who knows what the Glens could have achieved if we’d managed that?
In terms of the players I’ve played with here, I made a lot of good friendships at the Oval. But I need to highlight Elliott and Marcus, who’ve been here the whole time. Elliott is a great professional who’s given everything to Glentoran, and I’m delighted for him that he’s got the long-term role he deserves. He’ll do brilliantly at it. Moko is also a great pro and a great leader within the club. He’s not a shouting captain but he leads throughout the club and is the first to volunteer to represent the club at supporters’ events and in the community. He deserves to lead Glentoran into a much more successful era. But one player I do want to highlight is Scully (David Scullion). He was the most underrated player in my time at the club and I felt his contribution was seriously under appreciated. I loved playing with him both at the Glens and before that at Coleraine. He set up an incredible number of goals for me and also scored quite a few himself, most importantly the Irish Cup Final winner. He's also a great friend.
100th goal for Glentoran, October 2018
Finally, I want to say a massive thank you to the supporters and all the volunteers at the club. We’ve been through a lot together, but I’ve had tremendous support and I hope people understand that I’ve given everything I had to Glentoran, both on the pitch and at supporter and community functions. Glentoran will always mean a lot to me”.
Thank you, Curtis, and very best wishes for the future.
NIFWA Player of the Month, February 2018, with club sponsor Paul McLean