Saturday 12 October
Kick Off 3.00pm
On Saturday we enter the second round of Sports Direct Premiership games when Dungannon Swifts visit the Bet McLean Oval.
The visitors will arrive at the Oval on the crest of a wave, after Sunday’s resounding 3-0 win at champions Larne pushed them to 3rd place in the table. Only current leaders Ballymena United have scored more goals than Rodney McAree’s side and only Larne - who have played three games fewer - have conceded fewer at the other end. After an initially slow start, picking up one point from their opening three games, the Swifts have lost just one of their last nine in all competitions.
After ending a five year winless run against Glentoran, the Swifts will be aiming to claim a second victory against us in five weeks, having secured a 1-0 victory when the sides met at a sun drenched Stangmore Park just last month.
While Dungannon were indebted to wasteful Glentoran finishing and a smart first half finish by John McGovern for that result, the comfortable way they closed out the second half was an indicator of how capable a side Rodney McAree has assembled. McGovern in particular - with five premiership goals from nine appearances - has proved a stellar signing, showing the kind of form that previously earned him a Northern Ireland U21 call up when at Newry City.
Former Glentoran defender Caolan Marron remains a long-term injury absentee, but McAree should be able to call upon other former Glens in midfielders James Knowles and Gaël Bigirimana and forwards Andrew Mitchell and Leon Boyd.
With regular goalkeeper Declan Dunne having missed the last five games, Alex Henderson is also likely to be on the bench as cover for Dunne’s deputy Patrick Solis Grogan.
Photographs by JOHNNY CALDWELL
Declan Devine: “Tuesday night’s Shield game against Carrick brought us the sort of performance we need to follow the win over Linfield. I went with a strong team as Carrick have some outstanding players and at that point of a knockout tournament you need to make sure you get through to the latter stages. It was a professional performance. It was a matter of getting the job done and booking our passage to the semi-finals.
"We were reasonably comfortable throughout, although I thought we had opportunities to put the game to bed earlier than we did. That was our sixth clean sheet in a row at the Oval and our sixth out of seven home games since the season started. Our players are relentless in their appetite to defend and they’ve been doing well against some very good forwards.
"We took the opportunity to give Finlay Thorndike a start and he was outstanding throughout – very creative and very expressive in his play. Our midfielders and defenders have been working very hard in these games and its paid off for us against Linfield and Carrick. Great to see Jay and JJ take their goals so well.
"We’ve another tough game on Saturday against a good and in form Dungannon team. Rodney is doing a fantastic job there to have them where they are in the table. They beat us at Stangmore and had a very convincing win at Larne last week. So they are where they are on merit, But our boys’ confidence is high and we’re progressing strongly now so we’ll be out to deliver another good performance.
"On the player front, Aaron Wightman is hoping to train with the squad in the next few days while Johnny Russell took a knock on Wednesday and we’re monitoring that with him."
Remaining 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.
- The Railway Stand will unfortunately be closed for this game due to some essential maintenance work currently being undertaken by the club with the support of NIFL.