Friday 9th August
Kick Off 7.45pm
After a very busy close season we start this season’s Sports Direct Premiership as we ended the last one – at home to Crusaders.
Its been a busy summer from both clubs, as no fewer than eight of the players who featured in our 2-1 win at Seaview in January have left the club while we’ve seen six – Daniel Gyollai, Frankie Hvid, Dylan Connolly, Wassim Aouachira, Charlie Lindsay and Andrew Mills – come in. We’ve also now got David Fisher and Cammy Palmer back in the squad after long term injuries in the second half of last season.
Plenty of changes for the Crues too, with legendary manager Stephen Baxter retiring after nineteen years of unprecedented success at the club. In the dugout now is Declan Caddell, promoted after seventeen seasons as a first teamer. There were plenty of changes on the playing side with star men Paul Heatley and Ben Kennedy leaving along with experienced defender Josh Robinson. In have come ex- Glens and Linfield player Jordan Stewart and four players joining from cross channel football.
Last season we had two wins and two draws over the Crues, so will be looking to start the season in a positive manner. The last time we opened the season against Crusaders was in 2011-12. That year we came away from Seaview with a 2-1 win thanks to goals from Colin Nixon and Darren Boyce. A similar outcome on Friday would be a great start for our new look squad.
Declan Devine: “It’s great to be back to competitive football after a hectic close season.
"We had a lot of departures in May, but I felt the squad needed a serious revamp after a very poor season. I’m very happy with the new lads who’ve come in. They bring more quality to us and over the course of pre-season both the new lads and the rest of the squad have fully bought into the to the training regime we’ve implemented and into the values we want to be seen to represent Glentoran from this season on.
"We’re hoping to bring another one or two experienced players into the squad before the window closes, but they’ll need to be absolutely the right type of player in terms of ability, performance and also the ability to buy into our values and expectations.
"Crusaders will be a challenging season opener, but most teams would be after the amount of business most of them have done in the off season. The Crues seem to have bought well and also lost a couple of quality players but they’re a very good squad as their end to last season showed.
"We have a couple of early season injuries that will impact us on Friday night as both Marcus Kane and Johnny Russell will miss this one. Nothing long term though. On the other hand Aaron Wightman very unluckily fractured his foot on his first pre-season game after his operation in April so he’ll be out a bit longer. It’s a very unlucky blow for a top lad and I’m looking forward to him contributing a lot this season. But any injury gives someone else a chance and hopefully they take it well.
"I’d like to thank a number of people for their work and support in pre-season – the newly gathered backroom team of Paddy McCourt, Tim McCann and of course Elliott Morris plus Chris Gardiner and Max Davidson who have joined us as our Strength & Conditioning team, Leon Tierney who does a great job as our Analyst and the legendary Jeff King, our Kit & Equipment Manager for his tireless work. Also I’d like to thank Jo McColgan and Leanne Dawson in the office. All these people have put in a great pre-season shift and deserve every success now the season is starting.
"In closing I know there will be highs and lows as we move forward but it’s vital that everyone – players, staff and supporters stick together through both. If we do we’ll be much stronger and I know from my time here as a player that when everyone at Glentoran pulls together there’s no better place to be.”
Tickets for this game can be purchased HERE.
Before the game there will be a minute’s silence for former Glentoran player and Manager Tommy Cassidy and for former NIFL referee Peter McGrath. Both men sadly passed away in the past week.
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.
- The Railway Stand will unfortunately be closed tomorrow night due to some essential maintenance work currently being undertaken by the club with the support of NIFL.
