Glenavon FC News

CO-OPERATIVE INSURANCE CUP: Glenavon and Distillery have agreed to switch their Co-Operative Insurance Cup 4th round, 2nd leg game at Ballyskeagh from Wednesday 17th to Tuesday 16th December. Kick-off is 7.45pm
 
SUSPENSIONS:  with effect from Monday 2 December……Conor Walsh 1 game (5 bookings) and Trevor Molloy 2 games (violent conduct). Molloy will now have a further one game automatic suspension following his sending off against Ballymena with further sanctions from the IFA Disciplinary Committee to follow.

SPOT THE BALL: Glenavon are promoting a New Year draw with a difference! Tickets are now on sale at £5 each for a “Spot The Ball” contest in which prize money totals £3,000.

Hugh Dickson, Gerard McMahon, Mark Turkington, Trevor Molloy and Adrian Harper promote the Spot the Ball Draw

The Mourneview Park pitch will be marked out into numbered squares with each square corresponding with a ticket number. At the JJB Premiership home game against Linfield on Saturday January 31 2009, three balls will be kicked at random onto the pitch. If a ball lands on a square which matches a ticket number, the ticketholder wins a prize.

There are three prizes, £1,500, £1,000 and £500.

Tickets can be bought at the club office, the Bedeck Suite, Club Shop, any Director,the Supporters Clubs and various outlets displaying the ‘Spot the Ball’ Draw Posters.

Further details about the event and the personalities involved will be released in due course.

Stephen McBride started with the same line-up that began the game at The Oval on Tuesday night knowing that a win would take his team 10 points clear of Roy Walker’s bottom placed Sky Blues.

The major talking point in the first half was the sending off of Trevor Molloy for the second time in three weeks. Whereas he may have felt hard done by when he was dismissed against Coleraine this time he can have no complaints. His gesture of dissent after he was, perhaps harshly, cautioned seconds earlier for backing into his marker, was spotted by the assistant and referee Keith Halliday had little option to show him a red once his attention was drawn to it.

It was only three minutes later that Glenavon took the lead when Gary Liggett smashed a powerful header past Blaney from Eamon Murray’s corner. The goal seemed to spark Liggett into life and just a minute later he tested Blaney with a low shot after he had charged down a clearance and exchanged passes with Murray.

Jay Magee headed Paul Carvill’s free kick over a minute before the break and Liggett went down in the box just before the whistle when he tricked his way along the goal line but Mr Halliday waved play on.

In the first minute of the second half Conor Walsh flashed a dipping drive just over the bar but the visitors were level a minute later when Stuart King was found unmarked on the edge of the area and slotted a right foot shot low to Murphy’s right and into the bottom corner.

Kelbie forced a great save from Murphy in the 50th minute though there appeared to be a foul on a Glenavon player in the build up. Roy Walker was then forced to replace the injured Gary Haveron in the 58th minute, bringing on David Cushley and the young sub scored with what was his second touch after he controlled a ball from King with his first touch and hammered a shot back across Murphy and into the far corner.

Another Ballymena substitute made it three to the visitors in the 78th minute when Paul McNeill slid in at the back post to direct a super low cross from United’s man of the match Stuart King past the helpless Murphy as a Glenavon attack broke down.

Post-match Reactions

Stephen McBride: “I feel some of the players, you can see, are committed to the cause and the game and others aren’t. Some are going out and doing silly things, doing what they want to do so you have to ask the question ‘do they want to play for the club or are they here for a wage; what are they here for?’ We’ll sort it out.

“We were behind the black ball once Molloy was sent off. It changed the whole game plan. We got our noses in front and we spoke about it at half time and we couldn’t hold on more than three or four minutes into the half. We talked about it, players say their piece, all talking a good game but they can’t go out and do it for five minutes in the second half. People didn’t do the jobs they were asked to do and once we went 2-1 down we had to go three at the back and it was always going to leave us exposed.”

Roy Walker: “We’re delighted to get 3 points. It was hard fought and you could argue that the sending off changed the game. I wouldn’t disagree in many ways even though I thought it was fairly even-steven in the first half.

“Any win for us is a good win so we’re grateful; it was a good effort. I thought, irrespective of the numerical factor, we deserved the win. We created chances, we didn’t sit back. We had to come out; we got an early goal and that was great and after that we went at it with good width.”

 Teams

Glenavon: 1. Murphy, 2. Hudson, 14. Carvill (McDonagh 85), 4. Magee, 5. Dickson (capt.), 15. Murray (Scates 72), 24. Harpur, 8. Walsh , 10. Molloy, 9. Grant, 18. Liggett (Larmour 62). Subs: 20. Buchanan, 22. Larmour, 25. Scott, 21. Scates, 12. McDonagh

Ballymena Utd: 1. Blaney, 2. Wray, 4. Haveron (Cushley 58), 6. McDonnell, 10. Kelbie, 11. King, 14. D. Walsh (McNeill 72), 16. Aidan Watson, 19. Stewart, 22. Colligan, 25. Deans (Mullan 64). Subs: 13. Burke, 18. Mullan, 20. O’Neill, 21. Cushley, 24. McNeill

Referee: Keith Halliday

The Club Shop at Mourneview Park will be open prior to the game today and also on Tuesday night ahead of the Co-Operative Insurance Cup game against Lisburn Distillery.

New in the shop this week are Glenavon FC golf umbrellas and the shop has also been re-stocked with a full range of items that would make ideal Christmas presents for any Glenavon fan.

Extended opening hours during the Christmas period will be announced shortly.

Ballymena United visits Mourneview Park tomorrow with Roy Walker’s team propping up the JJB Sports Premiership table and seven points behind Glenavon but Stephen McBride is taking nothing for granted “Every game that comes round is a hard, difficult game and we’ll be prepared for it. It’s going to be difficult for Ballymena too. We’ll get over the disappoinment of losing on Tuesday night, the lads will remain positive and we’ll be ready for Saturday at Mourneview Park” he told the Glenavon website.

While the Glenavon Head Coach will be without Adrian Harper who has a hamstring strain Roy Walker will be missing leading goal scorer Neil Teggart who has pulled an abdominal muscle in training. Defender Albert Watson is also out with a long-term injury and Gavin Melaugh is suspended. In an extraordinary move Walker has placed seven first team squad members on the transfer list, including former Glenavon favourite Gavin McDonnell. This could work one of two ways and no doubt Walker is hoping it will inspire the listed players to ‘prove him wrong’ by lifting their game, starting tomorrow at Mourneview. Glenavon will be going all out for a win that would put ten points between them and the basement club.

Despite taking the lead in just the 4th minute through Conor Walsh’s first goal of the season Glenavon was brought back down to earth with two goals from Kyle Neill earning a win for 10-man Glentoran who had Dean Fitzgerald sent off in the first half.

After Glenavon’s astonishing victory at Windsor Park on Saturday fans of the Lurgan Blues were asking “Could it happen again?” Could they beat the second ‘Big Two’ side on their own patch? It looked like it just might happen when Conor Walsh headed Glenavon ahead after just 4 minutes. Niall Hudson angled a cross field pass to Trevor Molloy and he played it back to Paul Carvill wide on the left. His first time cross was headed by Walsh just inside Elliott Morris’ right hand post with the Glens keeper unable to keep it out despite diving full length.

Glenavon’s lead lasted only four minutes though before Neill levelled in bizarre fashion. Glenavon lost possession and Shane McCabe’s pass released Fordyce in space on the right. He turned inside and shot from 8 yards. It was half saved by Tuda Murphy and scrambled off the line by Hudson but Fordyce had another go which Hudson again cleared and after Waterworth miscued the ball broke to Neill and this time he smashed a shot to the net.

This already amazing game, which had looked to be promising a night of high entertainment value for the sizeable crowd, took another twist in the 24th minute when Referee Trevor Moutray showed Dean Fitzgerald a straight red card for an incident just after Ryan Harpur was caught by the Glens midfielder who then appeared to stamp on the prostrate Glenavon player.

Walsh tried his luck with a shot from all of 35 yards in the 37th minute which Morris had to get down to his right to deal with. Gary Hamilton was then booked for dissent before, in the 38th minute, he ran onto McCabe’s superb through ball down the middle only to stumble as he neared the box. This allowed the Glenavon defenders to force him wide but he was still able to put over a fabulous cross which left Murphy stranded and it looked like a simple tap in from six yards for that man Neill again but he totally miskicked and ended kicking fresh air and the danger was cleared.

Five minutes before the break Molloy went on a great run down the left before cutting a low cross back from the bye line for Gary Liggett but the ball was whipped off his toes as he was about to strike from inside the six yard box.

The ten man Glens took the lead nine minutes into the second half when a soft free kick was awarded just outside the box for a foul on McCabe. Fordyce rolled the ball to his left and Neill smashed it left footed through a crowd of bodies and past an unsighted Tuda Murphy to grab his second of the match.

Tony Grant took Murray’s long ball on his chest, turned on the edge of the box and fired a shot that Morris saved well. Stephen McBride then made a double substitution in the 66th minute, bringing on Willo McDonagh and Davy Larmour for Walsh and Liggett.

Fordyce put over a cross to the edge of the box in the 76th minute and it took a flying save by Tuda Murphy to push Hamilton’s drive around the post for a corner.

Glenavon’s third sub was Garth Scates who replaced Eamon Murray and it was his ball up to Grant which was laid off by the striker into McDonagh’s run into the right of the box. He hit a good low right foot shot that was well saved by Morris to deny the visitors an 83rd minute equaliser.

In the end the ten men of Glentoran were never really put under enough pressure and once they took the lead it looked comfortable for Alan McDonald’s side who moved top of the table thanks to this result.

Maccer’s View: “I think we deserved something from the game. Our effort was there and we tried to play especially when they went down to ten men. We tried to pass it, keep possession, tried to go wide and stretch the game but Glentoran are a good side. They’re not top of the League for nothing and it’s probably a reflection of the belief we’re getting in ourselves that, after a hard trip to Windsor Park on Saturday, we’ve come to The Oval tonight and we’ve only picked up three points from the two games. That’s a sign that we’re believing in ourselves and the changing room is disappointed that we didn’t pick anything up from tonight.

“Every game is different so if anyone thought we were going to come out and be 4-1 up against Glentoran, it wasn’t going to happen. I asked for the same effort and belief from the lads and I think we got that against a good Glentoran side. When any team goes down to ten men it is actually hard to play against because they get an extra yard in their stride, they try harder for each other.

“Overall we’re delighted with Saturday’s result and disappointed with tonight’s but I suppose, before two games away to Linfield and away to Glentoran, we’d have taken three points.”

Teams:

Glentoran: 1. Morris, 2. Nixon, 3. Neill, 4. Hill, 5. Leeman (capt.), 6. McCabe, 8. Fordyce, 10. Hamilton (Halliday 86), 13. Waterworth, 14. Fitzgerald, 15. Simpson. Subs: 18. Taylor (GK), 7. Ward, 9. Halliday, 22. Gardiner, 23. McGovern.

Cautioned: Hamilton 37, Simpson 68. Sent off: Fitzgerald 24

Glenavon: 1. Murphy, 2. Hudson, 14. Carvill, 4. Magee, 5. Dickson (capt.), 15. Murray (Scates 71), 24. Harpur, 8. Walsh (McDonagh 66), 10. Molloy, 9. Grant, 18. Liggett (Larmour 66). Subs: 20. Buchanan, 22. Larmour, 16. Haughey, 21. Scates, 12. McDonagh

Cautioned: Molloy 85

Referee: Trevor Moutray (Dundonald)