Tuesday 16th April
Kick Off 7.45pm
Tomorrow night we face Larne for the fifth and final time this season as the reigning Sports Direct Premiership champions visit the Bet McLean Oval.
Larne have recently had a couple of unexpected defeat, v Cliftonville in the Irish Cup semi-final and to Crusaders in the Sports Direct Premiership. The Crusaders loss was their first league defeat since a shock 1-0 away defeat to Loughgall back in September. Between the 2 defeats was a 25-game undefeated league run that included 2 defeats of Glentoran at Inver Park – 2-1 in November and 3-0 in February. During that time they also won the County Antrim Shield for the fourth time in a row, defeating us 2-1 at Seaview in the final in January.
Larne have won their l2 most recent visits to the Bet McLean Oval. Most recently in the second league game of the season when a late Bobby Burns goal wasn’t enough to cancel out second half strikes from Michael Glynn and Andy Ryan.
Ryan was on target four times on Saturday as Larne bounced back from the Crusaders defeat with an 8-1 win over third placed Cliftonville at Inver. So clearly this one is a major challenge for Glentoran, but one that needs to be met if the fourth place finish is to be secured.
Declan Devine: “Saturday’s performance and result at Coleraine were very disappointing and its laid at our door. I’d been encouraged by a much better, hard-working performance in the league game against Linfield but Saturday was nowhere near the levels of effort or intensity we need to be at if we’re to achieve Europe and also to satisfy our supporters.
Our fans still turned up in decent numbers at Coleraine but after a pretty good start we just showed no intensity for the rest of the first half. That was clear all over the pitch and what made it worse was that we lost a game where the opposition didn’t create a single chance.
We could blame individual mistakes for our defeat but I’m not going to do that. Even the very best players can make mistakes but it’s up to team mates to either help them out or to compensate at the other end. Paddy took his goal well to get us back into the game but we didn’t create enough apart from that and missed the couple of good chances we had. I blame that on the lack of intensity and urgency in our overall play and it isn’t acceptable at this level.
We’re in a mini league after the split and we’re only playing good teams. But there’s still a big prize to be won at the end of the season and I’m demanding – because the club and the supporters deserve it – that everyone on the playing side lives up to what the supporters are entitled to expect from experienced full-time players. That means showing the right amount of passion and attacking intent right from the start tonight. If we do that we can get the result we want and need.
Larne had an incredible win over Cliftonville at the weekend so they’ll be coming here full of confidence and with a lot riding on the remaining 3 games, including this one. They’re a very good team as their results and league position indicate, so we can’t afford the players to put in another performance like Saturday. Our players should have a lot more in them to get up for this match but they need to work hard and positively from the start to show it. If they do that and practice what we’ve been working on together then it’ll be a good, competitive game.
David Fisher was unlucky to have to come off just before half time on Saturday with a twisted knee. He’s an important player to us so we’ll be working hard to get him ready for tonight. But we won’t risk him if he’s not ready. Seanan will be available again after suspension but Aidy Wilson is still out.
We have 3 games between now and the start of the playoffs, all against good teams. With the right approach from the players and the continued backing of our supporters we can go into the playoffs in good form and good spirits.”
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.
Photographs by JOHNNY CALDWELL