Saturday 13h January
Kick Off 3.00pm
Fifth plays sixth at the Bet McLean Oval as we face each other for the third time this season in the Sports Direct Premiership.
Coleraine are currently enduring a poor run of form, having lost their last 5 games in all Competitions, which has led to supporter dissatisfaction with manager Oran Kearney as they have dropped to within a single point of the bottom six chasing pack and exited the Irish Cup at the hands of Cliftonville. In a bid to arrest this slide, the club have backed Kearney in the January transfer window by rubber stamping the signings of former Glens goalkeeper Rory Brown from Glenavon, former Linfield Right Back Jack Scott and Derry City striker Jamie McGonigle.
The Bannsiders will be encouraged, however, by their previous visit to the Oval in September. That night the Glens led, thanks to James Singleton’s first half header up until the 79th minute. But quick-fire goals from striker Matthew Shevlin and winger Conor McKendry turned the game completely on its head and rewarded Coleraine with a 2-1 win that their domination of proceedings fully merited.
Kearney is likely to be without attacking midfielder Jamie Glackin after he had to be substituted in the loss to the Reds, while striker Matthew Shevlin and defender Graham Kelly have been missing from the side for several games. Returning forward Jamie McGonigle will hope to feature if International clearance has been received after his move from League of Ireland side Derry City.
Warren Feeney: “Last week’s cup game against Annagh was the tough one I expected it to be. Teams from lower divisions are always a potential banana skin and Annagh definitely came for a battle. We dominated the game but Annagh defended well and put up a great fight. But at the end Fudzer and Junior came up with the magic to get us over the line. Ultimately getting through to the next round is what matters in cup games so on we go to Ballymacash next month.
What pleased me a lot was how well Rhys Walsh did when he came on. I said at the start of the season I want to take every opportunity to bring the young players through. I stand by that and Rhys put in a fantastic shift last week. Johnny and Aaron have been doing very well for the first team and other lads like Leon Boyd and Casey Smyth are well in contention too.
On the player front, there was some worry that Cammy Palmer needed an operation. But we know now that he doesn’t and he’ll be returning to training very soon. We’ll take it gently with him to make sure we get him back to full fitness and we’re looking forward to welcoming him back into training. Harry Murphy has also completed couple of games for the Seconds so he’s well on his way back which will be a boost to the squad.
We have our targets this month and we’re speaking to a few of them. But it’s important to be patient in any transfer window. We know clubs will sometimes hold on to as late as they can so we need to keep working on that front. As you’ll know, Sean Murray went to Cork on loan this week. I want to wish him all the best.
For today’s game, Coleraine have already sent out a message with a few strong signings in the first week of the window, They’ve had a few poor results over the past month or so but we know from our two matches earlier this season that they are a strong team. I have a great respect for Oran as a person and for the job he’s been doing at Coleraine for so long. We know they’ll be competitive but we’re on a decent run of form so we’re well up for this one.”
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.
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