Tuesday 6th January
Kick Off 7.45pm
Glentoran supporters will be looking for a continuation of our current good form tomorrow night when third placed Cliftonville visit the Bet McLean Oval for our third meeting this season and game 26 in the Sports Direct Premiership.
Cliftonville come into the game on a streak of extremely impressive form; 12 wins in all competitions from their last 13 games and winning their last 6 league games in a row. What does offer encouragement for Glentoran is that the 1-1 draw between the sides at Solitude in early December is the only game the Reds have failed to win since exiting the League Cup at Dungannon in mid-November.
That run has placed Jim Magilton’s side firmly in the title race, just 5 points behind leaders Linfield and 4 away from Champions Larne with a game in hand on both. More tellingly they are 16 points ahead of us despite dropping 5 points against us in our previous 2 meetings, though the Reds have played a game more..
The Reds have visited the Oval on 3 occasions to date in 2023 and been defeated on each one: a 3-0 league defeat in April was followed by a 2-0 loss the following month in the Final of the European Playoffs and in this season’s league meeting back in September, a piece of individual class from substitute Niall McGinn was the difference in a close encounter where the Glens emerged as 1-0 winners. Boasting the meanest defence in the league and the second most prolific strike force in the division, Jim Magilton’s side can move to within 2 points of leaders Linfield with a win in tonight’s rearranged fixture.
In order to maintain their league challenge, manager Magilton has been active in the January transfer window; goalkeeper David Odumosu signing permanently from St Pats Athletic along with midfielder Ben Wylie from Swedish side Ytterhogdals IK and defender Paddy Burns (brother of our own Bobby) after a spell in America. Although Magilton was disappointed to lose midfielder Cricky Gallagher to Larne, he was able to bring Shea Gordon in from the Inver Park side as part of that deal. A loan deal for Bolton defender Eric Yoro should help ease the loss of Luke Turner to St Pats.
Winger Stephen Mallon returned to the side for Saturday’s Irish Cup win over Loughgall, with forward Sam Ashton on the bench after serving a suspension. Top scorer Ben Wilson has missed the last 2 games after picking up an injury in the win over Ballymena United.
Warren Feeney: “We were outstanding in our cup game at Ballymacash on Friday night. It’s easy to be too complacent playing a team from a lower division but the boys were very positive from the start, applied themselves brilliantly and got the game tied up nice and early. We were able to get lads like Harry Murphy, Josh Kelly and Aaron Wightman some intense game time and help them get into their stride. The reason I was happy not to be rushed into anything in the transfer window is that we have plenty of good players, including some still coming back after a long playoff. Obviously with a squad like ours some good players are concerned when they’re not getting a regular start but they all came in on Friday and totally proved their value to the club. It was great that Charlie Lindsay got his first game of his loan with us. Charlie is an excellent player, a very intelligent lad and player who knows the club inside out. He excited people in his 45 minutes in Lisburn and I think he’ll make a very big contribution between now and the end of the season.
I’m looking forward to tomorrow night’s game. Cliftonville and an excellent side and I’m not surprised as I have a tremendous respect for Jim and Gerard. Jim is a great man to have in the league and with the good players he has in his squad they are deservedly up there challenging for the league. There’s no doubt this will be a tough game, but we won’t go into it lacking confidence as we’ve beaten them and drawn with them this season in two very well contested games. We’re in good form and as we showed at Seaview we’ve added that bit of steel to our game that we needed. So it’s up to us to keep this good run going and to keep enjoying our football.”
Tickets for this game can be purchased HERE.
IMPORTANT SUPPORTER NOTICES
- The Board of Directors remind supporters that under no circumstance is anyone permitted to bring flares, fireworks or any other sort of pyrotechnic equipment into the Bet McLean Oval at any time. These are highly dangerous to other supporters and potentially to players. Any breach of this rule will not be tolerated under any circumstances. Persons breaking this rule will receive a lifetime ban from the Bet McLean Oval and will be reported to the police.
- We strongly request that supporters respect the rights of the local residents by parking well away from housefronts in the immediate locality. There is plenty of available parking at the Holywood Arches Heath Centre.
