Glentoran v Crumlin Star
Tuesday 19th September, 7.45pm.
Following our excellent League win at Ballymena on Saturday, we move on Tuesday to the first round of the Toals County Antrim Shield with a visit from Crumlin Star, reigning Champions of the Northern Amateur League
Crumlin Star is managed by our former coach, Paul (“Chew”) Trainor who was a member of Eddie Patterson’s management team for our Irish Cup successes in 2013 and 2015. He also recently attended the Glentoran (1923) Committee’s recent 50th anniversary dinner for the Detroit Cougars, representing his late father, Danny who was a member of that squad.
Since winning their championship in May, Star have lost Darren Murray to Warrenpoint Town but have added striker Miguel Chines who was part of Gary Haveron’s NIFL Championship and double cup winning Carrick Rangers team from 2014/15. They also have former Cliftonville and Coleraine midfielder Joe McNeill who was also part of that squad.
Gary Haveron said on Sunday evening: The Shield may not be the most prestigious trophy but most of the big boys are in it and we want to start winning trophies to give both the players and supporters a further boost as we keep moving the club in a positive direction.
After a hard fought win at Ballymena – and I went into the match on Saturday very confident that we were in exactly the right frame of mind to win it – I want to use this Shield match to refresh the squad a bit. Moko came off as a precaution at Ballymena and we want him to be fit for what’s another massive test against Coleraine on Saturday. Some other lads have played nearly every minute so far this season and I want to give some of them a rest before Saturday.
To be fair we have a lot of good lads who haven’t had much game so far so this also gives them a chance to impress. That’s no disrespect to Crumlin Star because I feel at the moment any team we put out should be good enough to work hard and get a result against most teams. We’ve got a big squad now with quite a lot of quality. Everyone here works equally hard in training and they genuinely all want to play their part in improving things here. Last year there were times it was hard to get a team out but now it’s very hard every week to leave out players with a great attitude who give so much in training. They all want to play so a few of them will get a chance on Tuesday. I expect them to win!”
Glentoran have won the County Antrim Shield on 26 occasions, most recently in 2010/11.
Admission prices for the match are: Adults £7, Concession £5. Children under 11 will be admitted free.
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.