Saturday 6th February 2021, Kick Off 3.00pm
On Saturday we host Cliftonville for our third meeting so far this short season. The previous two meetings have yielded a win each, both with the last gasp winners that have become such a staple of matches between the two teams in recent years.
After an inconsistent run of results in November and December, Cliftonville have been in better form recently - unbeaten in the 5 games played so far in 2021.
The Reds came away from the Oval with full points on each of their two visits last season. The first game in October 2019 saw the Glens reduced to ten men in the 63rd minute, with striker Darren Murray shown a hugely controversial second yellow card for failing to leave the pitch on the correct side as he was about to be substituted. Eventually the Reds took advantage as Joe Gormley slotted home an 84th minute winner, albeit they had to resist a wave of sustained pressure at the end as keeper Richard Brush pulled off an outstanding save in injury time to keep out Cameron Stewart's goalbound header.
The second game last March sadly proved to be the last of the curtailed 2019/20 season, with the COVID-19 19 pandemic causing the postponement (and eventual cancellation) of the remainder of the league campaign. That day, a lacklustre Glens performance was punished by two second half strikes from Ryan and Chris Curran as Cliftonville ran out 2-0 winners. The Reds recent good form at the Oval (4 wins in their last 5 league games) is something of a change in trend, as they had won only 4 of their 20 visits prior to that, with the Glens winning on 12 of those occasions.
Manager Paddy McLaughlin has made wholesale changes to his squad during the transfer window, with 7 new faces - including former Wolves and Warrenpoint 'keeper Aaron McCarey, Linfield winger Daniel Kearns and Dungannon midfielder Kris Lowe - arriving at Solitude, with goalkeeper Richard Brush departing to Sligo Rovers and striker Thomas Maguire on loan to Warrenpoint. The most high-profile departure was, of course, star forward Conor McMenamin returning to the Oval in exchange for Paul O'Neill - with the young striker making a rapid return to his former stomping ground fresh from scoring a vital late equaliser on his debut at Coleraine. Midfielder Ronan Hale has also enjoyed a productive start to his Reds career, scoring twice in his first five appearances. One player who won't be available as an attacking option, however, is Joe Gormley, who is currently sidelined by a broken elbow. Left Back Levi Ives is also a long-term absentee.
Mick McDermott: “We’re all ooking forward to a good game back at the Oval against a talented and strong Cliftonville side.
We now have three home games within a week and we need to maintain our strong home record in those matches to pick up valuable points. The games are coming thick and fast now and it doesn’t get any better than Cliftonville at home, followed by Ballymena and Coleraine.
We have everyone available apart from Jay Donnelly and Andrew Mitchell; we expect Andrew to be back in training next week and Jay’s suspension finishes tomorrow”.
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 2.30 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.
