Monday 2nd September 2019, Kick Off 7.45 pm
On Monday we meet Institute at the Oval in a match rescheduled for Sky TV following the postponement of Linfield v Larne. We go in on the back of two consecutive wins – our heroics at Ballymena Showgrounds last week and our convincing midweek 5-1 home win over Ballyclare Comrades in the BetMcLean League Cup.
Institute are currently 11th in the table with three defeats and a draw from their first four games but had a very commendable draw with Coleraine to get things back on track after a difficult start.
Our four meetings last season saw a Willie Garrett goal give us a 2-1 home win after Michael McCrudden had equalised Ross Redman’s early opener. The December game at the Brandywell epitomised much of our season as a last-minute Institute ended the game at 3-3. Three times Institute had equalised after John Herron and Robbie McDaid (twice) had given us the lead on three separate occasions. The following month we again headed north and had a 2-0 win through two landmark goals – Elliott Morris first in his 723rd appearance for the club, and what we all know will be the first of many in Paul O’Neill’s career at Glentoran! Finally, in the last normal Premiership game of the season, a Darren Murray penalty and an injury time header from skipper Marcus Kane gave us another 2-0 home win.
Institute Media Officer Nicky Morton spoke to www.glentoran.com at the weekend: “The week before we began our season with the league opener away to Linfield, we lost our manager, John Quigg. As you can imagine this was bad timing for the club. This, along with losing key players from last season such as Michael McCrudden and Ronan Doherty, also didn't help matters. Both had terrific seasons for the club and were vital in keeping us in the Premiership. Nevertheless, the 1st team squad travelled and put up a brave fight at Windsor park. Having stayed in the game for most of the game, Linfield eventually ran out 3-1 winners. This was followed up by losses to Carrick Rangers and Dungannon Swifts.
However, after some player recruitment, results have started to change as we were able to grab a draw away to Coleraine and a win at home in the BetMclean League Cup v PSNI. The squad has had an overhaul this summer with incoming players: Rory Brown, Paul Wells, Conor Tourish, Aidan McAuley, Raymond Foy, Niall Grace, Brendan McLaughlin, Evan Tweed, Graham Crown, Cormac Burke and Shane McNamee. With the window closed, we now feel we can work hard to push up the table. It is also our aim to go on a good cup run!”
Mick McDermott: “It’s nice to be coming into this game off the back of two good wins. Ballymena was a great performance all round. I thought we controlled the game from start to finish, apart from a 10-15 minute spell around their goal, which gave them a temporary lift. The first half was high rhythm, high tempo and we controlled every part of that. Overall it was our best performance of the season so far. It was brilliant that we had the spirit to equalise late through Robbie but honestly, I think if we’d left there with a draw we’d all have been disappointed. So, to get the min in minute 93 was brilliant for everybody – p-layers, coaching staff and the fans who made the journey and stayed behind us throughout.
Then on Tuesday against Ballyclare we made a lot of changes, but I think our performance showed the depth of the squad. Bearing in mind it was the first time most of them had played together in a competitive fixture I thought their fitness levels, enthusiasm and work rate were great and they showed their quality. We didn’t have to say much to get them pumped up for it as everyone here knows they’re fighting for their place. Also, we saw some great finishing from Jonny and Elvio in their first starts for us.
The strength of our squad means we have plenty options for today’s game against Institute and I know whatever guys we use will slot in effectively and make a valid contribution. That’s vital as we continue our climb over the rest of the season. We're looking forward to the game, though we probably would have preferred it on a Saturday. But the support we got from the massive home crowd at our last midweek league game was magnificent. No one should underestimate the boost that gives the players and the positive impact it can have on their performance.
Ben Cushnie has gone to Ards on loan. This will be a good move for Ben. We just signed him on a pro contract a month ago and we want him to get plenty of game time against older, more experienced players before returning to the club to stake his claim for the first team”.
The Board of Directors at Glentoran Football Club would again request that all supporters travelling to the Oval by private car consider the local residents when deciding where and how to park. Local parking is freely available at the Arches Health Centre.
