Tuesday 23rd January
Kick Off 7.45pm
Tomorrow we have our first trophy showdown since July 2020 when we go to Seaview for the final of the Toal’s Bet County Antrim Shield.
This will be our 49th Shield final, and we are seeking our 27th win. We haven’t won it in 13 seasons, when a Scott Young managed team beat Linfield 3-1 at Windsor Park in November 2010 through goals from Matty Burrows, Andy Waterworth and Grant Gardiner. We were in the final again the following season but lost 1-2 at the Oval to Tommy Breslin’s Cliftonville team. This is the longest period in the club’s history without winning the Shield so tomorrow night’s appearance is long overdue.
Larne will be seeking to win the Shield for a fourth season in succession, having previously only managed 3 runner up places in their entire history prior to their maiden win in the 2020/21 season. That victory against Glentoran, via a penalty shootout following a goalless draw, has been followed by successive victories over our cross-town rivals Linfield and it was the Blues they faced in their first game in this season’s competition; midfielder Joe Thomson scoring the only goal at the National Stadium back in September. More comfortable wins were achieved in the Quarter and Semi Finals, with Championship title challengers Bangor and our upcoming Irish Cup opponents Ballymacash Rangers beaten 3-0 and 4-0 respectively at Inver Park.
Larne’s main piece of transfer business so far this window has been the signing of former Glentoran midfielder Cricky Gallagher from Cliftonville, in a deal which saw Shea Gordon move in the opposite direction. Top scorer Andy Ryan will be hoping to return to the side after being an unused substitute for Saturday’s league win at Dungannon.
We have faced Larne in 3 occasions in the Shield in the last decade. The occasion prior to the 2020-21 Final was the previous season in the quarter final when we won 3-1 at home with goals from Darren Murray, Navid Nasseri and Elvio Van Overbeek. Prior to that was in September 2014 when a single Jordan Stewart goal clinched a first round tie at the Oval for Eddie Patterson’s team. Marcus Kane is the only survivor from that game.
Warren Feeney: “I’m delighted we’re in a final as that’ where Glentoran should be an awful lot more than we have been over the past decade or so. Obviously, it’ll be a tough game against a very good Larne team, but clearly we’re there on merit so we’ll go into it feeling very strong in front of a big, loud Glentoran crowd. Winning trophies is what Glentoran should be all about and I’m very proud to be managing this great club in its first final in 4 years. I’m excited to see how quickly our tickets sold out and I can assure the big Glentoran support that our players will be totally up for it and determined to win when they run out at Seaview tomorrow night. Larne used the Shield to kick on to greater things when they beat the Glens in the final 3 years ago and the players and I are determined that we’ll do the same from tomorrow night.”
This match is SOLD OUT.
