Samuel Gelston’s Irish Whiskey Irish Cup
Saturday 4th March 2023
Kick Off 3.00pm
On Saturday we travel to face Crusaders in the Quarter Final of the Samuel Gelston’s Irish Whiskey Irish Cup.
The Crues are seeking to defend the Trophy after last season’s last gasp extra time win against Ballymena United. They progressed to the Quarter Finals of this year’s competition by defeating Championship side Dergview 6-0 before winning 2-1 at Premier Intermediate League leaders Bangor in the last round.
These two clubs have met at this stage twice in the past three seasons. At the Oval two years ago, an early Billy Joe Burns header saw Stephen Baxter’s side progress to the Semi Finals, where they would lose to Larne on penalties. In the previous season’s Quarter Final, it was the Glens who came out on top - again at the Oval - when a 2-1 victory helped us progress and eventually go on to win the trophy. Of the players who played that day, only Marcus Kane, Rory Donnelly and Joe Crowe remain in the Glentoran panel.
Rodney McAree: “I was very disappointed not to get all three points from the Glenavon game on Tuesday. We started well and could have been two or three up after twenty minutes. After that we seemed to lose momentum and although we still created plenty of chances in a pretty one sided match we weren’t able to take them. That was very frustrating for all of us on the night, so everyone is hurting and very determined to move on and make up for some of the disappointment with progress in the cup.
The Irish Cup Quarter Final at Seaview on Saturday gives us a great chance to progress towards the final, something I know means a lot to Glentoran supporters. We all know Seaview is a tough place to go for any team, but it will be at least equally tough for Crusaders. We go there with a clearly defined game plan and all the players know what they need to do on the day to make sure we get the win. It’s a time for them to show the character needed.
On the player front, Marcus is available for selection after his suspension and Rory is looking better after his injury from Solitude kept him out of Tuesday’s squad. We have a couple of late checks to make, but however that turns out, we’re going to Seaview with a very strong and determined squad.”
Tickets for this game remain available to purchase at https://crusadersfootballclub.com/tickets
