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Match Preview: Glentoran v Ballymena United

Tue, 09/03/2021 - 00:36

Tuesday 9th March 2021, Kick Off 7.45

Tonight we play our rearranged Danske Bank Premiership match with Ballymena United, exactly one month after the original fixture was called off due to a late freezing of the Oval pitch.

Ballymena were beaten 3-1 and 2-0 on their visits last season. They do, however, boast a respectable record at the Oval over the last decade or so and had recorded 4 wins and a draw from 6 prior to the 19/20 season.

In last season’s first meeting in October 2019, Glentoran had been 1-0 down at half time after a controversial injury time penalty incident. Marian Antolovic saved Cahair Friel's spot kick and then kept out the strikers follow up effort, only for the referee's assistant to rule that the ball had briefly crossed the line and award a goal. Thankfully, this decision inspired the Glens into a second half fightback - Hrvoje Plum drew us level in the 51st minute, Robbie McDaid took advantage of a Jim Ervin error soon after to take the lead and skipper Marcus Kane headed home Plum's 82nd minute corner to seal the win.

The 2-0 game in late December was a rather different affair - stubborn United defending looked set to earn them a point, before Robbie McDaid took advantage of stand in 'keeper Declan Carville's poor clearance in the 85th minute to blast home the opener. Deep into injury time, with Ballymena having pushed every player forward to attack a 98th minute corner, the ball was headed clear to Navid Nasseri who raced clear from just inside his own half to slot the ball into an unguarded net.

Having enjoyed a solid run of form in January, a surprise 1-0 home defeat to bottom club Dungannon at the beginning of February set Ballymena on a run of 5 successive defeats that saw them drop to 8th place in the table. The rot was stopped by a 2-1 win at Portadown, where ex Glentoran left back Ross Redman netted an 83rd minute winner against another of his former clubs. They have recorded consecutive 1-1 home draws since against Cliftonville and Larne. Scoring goals has been an issue, with Cahair Friel having fallen out of favour and left to join Carrick on loan. But ex Bradford City forward Shay McCartan remains a consistent threat and has scored 3 in the last 4 games.

Goalkeeper Jordan Williamson returned v Larne and should continue ahead of Ross Glendinning. Manager David Jeffrey has been hindered by injuries to regular centre backs Scott Whiteside, Johnny Addis and Kofi Balmer, while ex-Glentoran full back Stephen McCullough has been missing since early in the season. Another major loss is star midfielder and captain Leroy Millar, who remains absent along with ex Dungannon midfielder Ryan Harpur.

Mick McDermott: “Friday’s performance at Carrick was one of our most pleasing the way we went about controlling the game when we were in possession but also the way we went about regaining possession when we didn’t have it. We consistently got the ball back quickly and didn’t let them play. It’s a difficult venue to go to but we were excellent in all areas of the pitch. Keeping a clean sheet is always a priority but our attacking play was also excellent, and we scored some very good goals as a result of some lovely football.

Tomorrow we play a Ballymena where results have dipped but performances haven’t dipped so badly. I watched their game against Larne at the weekend. They put in a very strong first half and it wouldn’t have been unfair if they’d held out for the win. So we’re under no illusions. It’ll be a difficult game, but we’ve prepared well as usual so I’m expecting a good performance.”

Supporters are reminded that they can access our GlensTV live stream of the match by signing up or signing in here. Live match coverage can be purchased for £7 (which includes access to a full replay of the action), while a delayed stream will cost £3. Remember, our stream will commence just after 7.15 with a match preview programme, and our match commentator Aaron Agnew will be accompanied as co-commentator by our legendary, quadruple title winning skipper Paul Leeman. Season ticket holders will have free access to the stream as usual.