Glentoran v Cliftonville
Saturday 24th February 2018, Kick Off 3pm
The second Ronnie McFall era at Glentoran begins on Saturday with the visit of Cliftonville to the Oval in the Danske Bank Premiership.
The January transfer window saw the Reds introduce two new faces and welcome a familiar one back to Solitude. The most high profile arrival was former Dundalk midfielder Conor McDonald who joined the club along with experienced defender Shane Grimes while highly rated young front man Daniel Reynolds returned from a loan spell with Larne.
They also had a mini clearout with three players joining Larne while centre forward Daniel Hughes moved to Dungannon Swifts and on loan goalkeeper Brett Long returned to parent club Dundee United.
In recent weeks Cliftonville's form has been indifferent both in the League and with their Cup performances with progress following a victory against Crusaders followed shortly afterwards to losing out on a League Cup Final berth following a defeat to Ballymena United. However despite this it should be noted that two of their forwards are at the forefront of the goalscoring charts in all competitions, with Joe Gormley on 22 goals and Jay Donnelly on 19.
Ronnie said after training on Thursday night: "Marcus is serving a one match suspension on Saturday while Calum (groin) and Willie (ankle) are doubtful after both having to come off against Ards. We'll assess them both on Saturday morning and make the final call then. Everyone else is available."
We have played Cliftonville twice this season. In October we lost 0-2 in a home match more convincing than the scoreline suggests, while in December we were very unlucky to lose 1-0 to a Levi Ives second half goal.
We have five games left to secure a top six place and a win tomorrow, with Ballymena away to in form Crusaders, would be an excellent way to start.
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.
