Saturday 30th April
5.30pm Kick Off
On Saturday we welcome Cliftonville to the Bet McLean Oval in our final normal Danske Bank Premiership match, a match that could see the North Belfast Reds crowned League Champions, depending on this result and one at the National Stadium.
Cliftonville manager Paddy McLaughlin will have a strong squad to choose from, with the forward line lead by Ryan Curran after the Reds no 9 bagged his 17th and 18th goals of the season at Seaview to rescue a late point last Saturday against North Belfast rivals Crusaders. Such is the form of McLaughlin’s side at the moment that experienced trio Jamie Harney, Chris Curran and Daniel Kearns are having to content themselves with substitute roles. With Joe Gormley likely to partner Curran in attack, former Glentoran striker Paul O’Neill is also likely to be among the substitutes. It is likely, however, that three other former Glens players will start in Johnny Addis, Cricky Gallagher and Jamie McDonagh.
A run of 3 draws in their last 4 games has left McLaughlin’s side behind Linfield going into the Final round of games but they are currently enjoying a 15 game unbeaten run in the League - Glentoran the last side to defeat them back in mid-January at Solitude - and they have not lost an away league match since a 1-0 reverse against the Blues at The National Stadium in mid-November.
Dramatic final day league deciders are nothing new when it comes to this fixture; Cliftonville having played out a 1-1 draw with Glentoran at Solitude when they secured the 1997/98 Title under the guidance of Marty Quinn and Glentoran defeating Cliftonville 3-1 at the Oval eleven years later under the late Alan McDonald to bring the 2008/09 Gibson Cup back to the Oval.
Mick McDermott: “Last week’s match at Coleraine match was disappointing in terms of both result and performance. Apart from the first 25 minutes, when we had chances to score, the game was not up to our standards. Goals change games and no doubt had Conor scored his chance early in the first half things could have been different for us.
We enter the final game of the season and need to secure third place. It is strange to say that as we all know that we were in a great position eight weeks ago - in joint first and the semi-final of an Irish Cup. No doubt, the Irish Cup scenario has been a disappointment for all involved - particularly for our players who deserved a chance to play towards a Cup Final, and our fans who deserved the opportunity to support us in the semi-final.
We now need to move on and play what is in front of us which is the Playoffs. We are still in the running for a European place and that now becomes our sole focus.
The Irish Cup arbitration case did not go our way, even though we believed our case was worthy and based on sound legal arguments. It was important to challenge and raise our concerns through the proper channels and the process we undertook.
While we have to accept the decision of the arbiter, that does not mean we have to agree with it. In reviewing the written decision it could be argued that several aspects of the judgement are based on misleading information.
So we move on and prepare for today’s important fixture. Cliftonville are a quality side who come to the Bet McLean Oval on a great run of form and with the possibility of ending the day as league champions. So they’re going for the title they’ll be very motivated, and we need to be ready for that as we want to win also. But our players are fully aware of the importance of securing first place for the playoffs so they will be completely focussed on securing a win today. Apart from the long-term absentees, we are missing just Sean Murray for this one. Sean has missed the past few games due to a chronic hip injury that has flared up in recent weeks. He has seen a specialist. He will miss today but will return healthy in the coming weeks.”
As always at home matches, 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.
Tomorrow’s match sponsor is ENCOM ENERGY SYSTEMS
We are specialists in Solar Photovoltaic and Battery Storage systems of all sizes, across all sectors, providing bespoke design and professional installation of both Grid Connected and Off-Grid systems.
For more information, visit our website www.encomenergy.co.uk or call us on 02895 380 910
