Monday 8th October 2018
Kick Off 7.45pm
On Monday night we welcome our old rivals Linfield to the Oval for one of the most eagerly awaited League “Big Two” matches for a few years.
The Blues have started well and currently sit second in the table, four points behind Glenavon but with a game in hand, We in turn have a game in hand over Linfield and sit just six points and two places behind in fourth place. With just one defeat in seventeen league games involving the two clubs there’s a genuine sense of anticipation,
Last season was our best in some time in these derby tussles with two wins and a draw in our last three meetings. Our most recent meeting as the UEFA League play off in May when we came back from 2-0 at Windsor to run out 4-3 winners through goals from Dylan Davidson, John McGuigan, Willie Garrett and Curtis Allen.
Ronnie McFall: “Although we’ve continued our unbeaten run, I wasn’t pleased with our performance or generally our attitude at Warrenpoint last week. Like I’ve said on a couple of other occasions, it’s a game we should have made safe from a strong position and a lead. Once Warrenpoint went down to ten men we just stopped playing. It was just a psychological thing happy and frankly there’s no justification for it. The game was there to be won so there’s no doubt we have to look at it as three points dropped.
On a more positive note I thought Cricky Gallagher did really well for us when he came on. I thought he gave us a lot of energy and he was always available for the ball.
Glentoran versus Linfield matches are always special. It's a game that still gives me a buzz and always has done, right back to when I was playing in them for Glentoran. I'm sure anyone that has been involved in it over the years would say the same. It's still the biggest game in Irish League football and no player should ever struggle to get themselves up for this challenge.
We had two good performances and results against Linfield in the latter stages of. The Blues have strengthened over the summer and it shows in the results they’ve had so far. But so have we. We should be constantly continuing to build on our progress to date and looking to take it on to the next step. There’s no better time to do that than in a home match against our greatest rivals."
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.