Friday 10th March 2023
Kick Off 7.45pm
Tomorrow evening Glenavon visit the Bet McLean Oval for the second time in eleven days and the Glens will definitely have a point to prove, having taken just one point out of six against the eighth placed team this season.
Last weekend’s 1-0 win at Newry gave Gary Hamilton’s side a first league win in 10 games, moving them into 8th place and within 2 points of Carrick Rangers in the race to secure 7th place, and with it the last European Playoff place.
Having kept successive clean sheets on their travels, Hamilton will be hoping for a similarly dogged performance from his side as they put in during the scoreless draw between the sides at the Oval last Tuesday.
Midfielder Isaac Baird will be hoping to retain his starting place after being restored to the side at the Newry Showgrounds, while Andrew Doyle could come in for ex Glens defender Calum Birney after replacing him in the second half on Saturday. Winger Peter Campbell is likely to miss out again through injury but Conor McCloskey did return to the bench at Newry, along with Danny Wallace.
Rodney McAree: “Our performance at Carrick was a big improvement, especially in the first half when we were positive, decisive and took our chances early on. We changed formation and we were all very pleased with the contribution of the lads who came in. Rhys moved to midfield and did exceptionally well, not least with his two goals. He is an outstanding player with great energy and he was involved in so much of what we did well during the match. Joe got his first start for a while and I thought he contributed very well with his work allowing the likes of Rhys and Bobby to get forward well.
We clearly have a point to prove against Glenavon tomorrow night. When we played them last week they sat in and frustrated us. We started well and created some decent opportunities early on, but as the game progressed we found it hard to break them down and as a result, frustrated ourselves. This time we have to challenge ourselves to be positive and on the front foot from the start, as we were at Carrick. If we do that them I’m confident we can secure the result we want.
We’ve had a few injuries of late. Shay took a bad shoulder knock in the first half at Seaview and I felt he played on bravely until he got to the point where he couldn’t lift his arm. It’s currently recovering well. We were also been Rory and Hrvoje at Carrick as they haven’t shaken off the impact of niggling knocks. Niall McGinn is recovering well but this one will be too early for him.”
Tickets are still available for this game at www.glentoran.com/tickets
