Glentoran v Cliftonville
Saturday 14th October, 3pm.
This Saturday we finish the first round of league games when Cliftonville visit the Oval.
This one is a real six pointer as the Reds are two points behind us in sixth place. After a mixed start they’ve had three successive League wins against Carrick, Linfield and Warrenpoint.
With the two teams above us playing each other on Saturday, the opportunity is there to leapfrog either Crusaders or Glenavon, but that obviously means we need to beat the Reds in our own game. Equally a defeat would see us slip a point behind the Reds. So another big day and yet another six pointer.
Gary Haveron: “We welcome Cliftonville to the Oval on Saturday or what promises to be a stiff test. They maybe didn't have the start to the season they would have liked but the signs of late would suggest they have gelled more as a team and with the fire power they possess they will be able to give a game to anyone in this league. We’re looking forward to it.
Robbie McDaid is available on Saturday after his suspension so he’ll come straight back into the team. John McGuigan had an operation on his wisdom teeth on Monday but he trained well tonight (Thursday) so hopefully he’ll be okay.
We’ve got a few injury concerns. Moko is likely to be out – possibly for a couple of weeks – after the nasty one he took against Carrick. Ross Redman missed Tuesday night because of a strain he’s been struggling with for a while but I’m hopeful he’ll make it. Same with Eoghan McCawl, who felt a strain on Monday after putting in a hard 90 minutes at Ards.”
Dylan Davidson is in full training and it’ll be good to get him back. Jonny (physio) reckons another week or 10 days should do it. Willie Garrett had 45 minutes for the U20s midweek which is great though after two years out it’ll be a couple of months before he’s ready for the first team. Willie is a real competitor and he’ll be a great asset for us so it’s important to give him time to be completely ready”.
After ten League matches I believe we could be in a better position with points we could have had in some drawn games. But the energy, enthusiasm and commitment to date has been much better and we must continue to move forward and keep building. We’re still a long way off where I want us to be, but this season so far we’ve shown plenty of positives to build on. The players are giving me a lot but we’ll always demand more from the squad because we can achieve plenty this season as part of the rebuilding process”.
The Board of Directors at Glentoran Football Club would again request that all supporters travelling to the Oval by private car consider the local residents when deciding where and how to park.