AUGUST 2005

JIM JOGGED IT!

Jim Logan successfully completed his 10km jog from Mourneview Park to Shamrock Park tonight - in just 64 minutes. Jim reports that contributions to his fundraising for Action Cancer and the Glenavon Supporters' Fundraising Committee have been very encouraging and have exceeded his expectations. There is still time to boost the fund if you haven't already done so.

Speaking to glenavonfc.com after his run, Jim said  "Thank you so much to all who helped in so many ways and all who have contributed. As well as those at the club I particularly appreciate the support of my family. Catherine wrote my PR, she and Jenny accompanied me in the car - no lifts, honest!! Jane and John brought the children to cheer me on and to run with me for part of the way. They have also collected quite a bit of money, and none of them have any interest in Glenavon - sad but true!

The support has far exceeded my expectations. I personally have received over £1000 and I believe there is still quite a bit in the pipeline. Any further contributions would be very welcome."

The BBC's Michael McNamee struggles to keep up with Jim and his grandchildren as they set off from Mourneview

"Michael McNamee of BBC programme "Your Place and Mine" interviewed me and tells me it will go out next Saturday morning between 7.30 and 9.00 am. If that is too early for you it can be heard on the web. Go to bbc.co.uk, then log on to the N Ireland page and finally the Your Place and Mine web-site."

For further information please contact:

Jim Logan tesorojim@aol.com  07748 654 996

LONG BALL GAME DOES IT FOR PORTS

Portadown 3-1 Glenavon

In a goalless first half in which a new-look Glenavon had the only two efforts on target, Hamilton and Arkins were both guilty of missing good chances for the hosts whilst Glenavon's Kieran O'Connor forced Miskelly into a good save. Jimmy Brown brought in Verner, Gawley and McAlinden in place of Farrell, McMahon and Walker, with Montgomery moving to right back and McAlinden slotting in alongside Black.

In the second half, just after Garth Walsh had thumped a shot off the bar for Glenavon, Portadown took the lead when Aaron Black, under no pressure, inexplicably headed a routine clearance from O'Hara's long free kick straight to the feet of Gary Hamilton. He wasted no time in dispatching a shot across McDonald and in off the far post.

Pele once described football as 'the beautiful game' and Glenavon's equaliser epitomised that aspect when Marty Verner coolly side footed Shea Campbell's cross past the helpless Miskelly after a neat build up down the Glenavon left.

Arkins got his customary goal when the Glenavon defence failed to clear another long free kick and the Portadown skipper's left foot finish beat the despairing dive of McDonald. Within 60 seconds Campbell should have equalised when Kelly failed to control  the ball and allowed it to reach the Glenavon striker. His touch was good but, one-on-one with Miskelly, he opted for power when a simple side foot into either corner would have left the keeper with no chance. As it was, his shot came at a comfortable height for the Portadown stopper and he was able to stand tall and block the shot.

Portadown clinched the victory eight minutes from time when another long free kick broke to Boyle and he drove a shot low into the bottom corner. Report and more photos

Neil Sloan celebrated 200 games as Glenavon's Team Attendant last night. His first match was against Kilmarnock.

SKY BLUES EDGE IT

Ballymena Utd 1-0 Glenavon

A Vincent Sweeney goal in the 57th minute gave the Braidmen their first points in this Season's CIS cup and condemned Glenavon to a third consecutive defeat. Glenavon should have gone in front in the 19th minute when Shea Campbell slid the ball past the advancing keeper but it rolled agonisingly inches wide of the post after a good touch from Farrell had provided the opportunity. Nine minutes later Nigel Boyd almost gifted the visitors a goal when his back pass wrong-footed Shannon but, again, the ball went just the wrong side of the post from the Glenavon perspective. Report

Also see www.drewmcwilliams.com for more great pictures featuring action from Glenavon's games.

25th August: GLENAVON NEWS

 Glenavon manager Jimmy Brown hopes that key midfielder Garth Walsh recovers from an ankle injury in time for Thursday night’s CIS Insurance Cup sectional clash with Ballymena Utd at the Warden Street Showgrounds. Walsh is the only injury doubt ahead of the Blues’ crucial meeting with the Sky Blues. "Garth got a thump on the back of the leg against Portadown and is doubtful for the Ballymena game," Brown commented. "He received treatment at the weekend, but was still in quite a lot of pain. We’ll have a good look at him in training and make a decision closer to Thursday."

Experienced defender David McAlinden, suspended for the first two games, is also in contention for a starting place against United. "It is good to have another defensive option available," Jimmy added. "However, I haven’t made my mind up what changes, if any, we’ll make for the trip to the Showgrounds. I was encouraged by our second-half display against Portadown so we might give the team that started that game another chance. It is too early to make any firm decisions."

Both Glenavon and Ballymena desperately need to begin picking up points if they are to have any chance of qualifying for the quarter-final stage of the CIS Insurance Cup. "Although United and us have both lost the first two matches, there is still a lot to play for," said Brown. "We need to win three of the last four to have any chance. That makes the next game crucial."

Shea Campbell, who spent three full seasons with the Braidmen, is sure to be a key figure for the Lurgan Blues against Tommy Wright’s men. "Shea has done well in both of our games so far." Brown continued. "He is a very confident lad who works hard and is prepared to go in where it hurts. He scored a fine goal last Saturday and will look to build on it against Ballymena."

Glenavon 1-2 Portadown

Gerard McMahon had the first effort of note as Glenavon took the game to Portadown in the early stages. His 30 yard shot just cleared the crossbar. The visitors took the lead in the 11th minute through a typical Vinny Arkins header when he got to Hamilton's corner before his marker. Glenavon came back strongly and Miskelly made a great save with his legs to deny Kieran O'Connor but Portadown doubled the lead, somewhat against the run of play, when Andy McDonald made a brilliant save to push Hamilton's thunderous volley onto the bar but Clarke reacted quicker than the Glenavon rearguard and tapped in the rebound from close range.

Boyle and Arkins could have sewn the game up for the Ports before half time but both put efforts just wide. McMahon's free kick was then tipped over by Miskelly but the visitor's keeper could do nothing to stop Campbell's volleyed effort in the last minute of the first half. Montgomery had played the ball out to McMahon, playing on the right side of midfield, and his precision cross was dispatched to the back of the net for his first Glenavon goal by Campbell.

Glenavon had the better of the second half with Campbell always looking dangerous. He almost equalised in the 50th minute when McMahon's ball set him clear and his powerful shot was somehow kept out by Miskelly who really knew little about it. Glenavon claims for a handball in the box on 77 minutes were waved away by the referee Michael Ross who indicated it came off a shoulder. Kieran O'Connor should have done better in the last minute when he tried to chip Miskelly from the edge of the box but his effort  ended up more as a back pass. Match report.

In the other match in Glenavon's group, Newry City went joint top with a 2-1 win away to Ballymena Utd, Barry Curran, who scored against Glenavon last week, grabbing both the goals.

POST-MATCH WITH JIMMY BROWN

"I really don’t want to be going on next week or the week after talking about encouraging defeats. We’ve got to start putting the ball in the back of the net. We did that today but it wasn't enough. We played well, particularly in the second half when I thought we were the better side and we had a number of chances: Andy McDonald was unemployed in the second half."

"What was encouraging was to see the team bounce back. That’s the other side of it, when you go 2-0 down against a team like Portadown and we bounce back and score - I think it was two minutes before half time - and it gave us a lift and I was very pleased with the players reaction to that – it’s a plus factor. It’s something we can work on. We were talking at half time of trying to get maybe a quick goal in the early stages of the second half and see how things turn. It didn’t work for us but I was very encouraged by how the players responded."

"Portadown are obviously one of the top three clubs in the Premier League and you can see the quality that they have in the team but certainly in the second half we gave as good as we got and sometimes a lot more. I’m just disappointed that we didn’t get anything out of the second half because we had so much of the play and we had the chances but we couldn’t put them away."

"Shea’s goal was tremendous; in fact all three goals were good. Arkins scored the first goal with his usual technique of getting in first from the corner and of course Hamilton does a wonderful bit of technique on a turn and smacks it. Unfortunately we didn’t react. Andy McDonald made a tremendous save but we didn’t react first, they did and, I think it was Clarke, who scored."

With the loss of Paul Evans, Gerard McMahon played on the right wing and that seemed to work well. “Gerard’s a good player and I’ve seen him play there though it’s a few years ago but he did it and he knows the game and he knew what was wanted and he knew what I expected and he played very well but I think the man of the match was Conor Walsh, in centre midfield for us. He had a tremendous debut and he was playing against one of the best midfielders in the league, in Collins. Playing against Collins on your debut would be daunting for most people but the kid is a good player and he knows the game and I was very pleased for him."

“I’m using this competition to work on the possible pairings up front and we’re working on it in training and so on. We had two on and two off today; it’s given me a look at those two pairs. If you are playing a 4-4-2 system it’s any two out of those four.”

BLUES BEAT PORTS!

The Glenavon supporters team won their first ever trophy at Shamrock Park on Saturday morning, defeating their Portadown counterparts 4-1 to win the coveted Royal Mail Community Action Trophy and helped raise funds for the charity work carried out by the Royal Mail team. It was a shaky start for the Lurgan Blues, as, despite having most of the play in the opening few minutes, Portadown opened the scoring, a low hit drive beating stand in ‘keeper Kyle Scott.

However the visiting side soon re-applied the pressure, and this paid off when Ben Thompson equalised, a tap in after Conor Wilkinson’s shot hit the post. Wilkinson then got the second when after a fine run down the right hand side he beat the keeper to put Glenavon deservedly in front. Wilkinson also got the third after the break when a finely flicked volley found the bottom right hand corner of the net. Sinny then rounded off a fine victory when a quickly taken free kick from just in front of the half way line chipped the keeper, Glenavon’s fourth of the game and no more than what they deserved from the game.

After the game the cup was awarded to captain Ian Wilson by Eddie Drury on behalf of the Royal Mail Community Action team who the game was in aid of.

The team would like to extend their thanks to the fans and officials of Portadown FC for arranging the game and the use of the facilities.

Report by Michael Scott

FOCUS ON ...

ROBBIE FARRELL

Dublin-based striker Robbie Farrell reckons that his move to Glenavon could prove to be the biggest challenge of his career so far. The 27 year old, who made his debut for the Lurgan Blues against Newry City last Saturday, expects life at Mourneview Park to be more demanding than it was at previous clubs Dublin City, Longford Town and Newry City. "Glenavon is a high profile outfit, one of the top teams in the north," said Robbie. "That puts pressure on everyone in the squad, including myself. Although we are one of the newly promoted sides, there will still be a high level of expectation. But that’s exciting. It’s one of the reasons why I jumped at the opportunity when Jimmy Brown invited me up."

Farrell spent the second half of last season with Newry City. "I enjoyed my six month spell there," Robbie explained. "It was my first experience of Irish League football. In fact I expected to stay. Roy and I had agreed terms, and I did a full pre-season at the club. Then, at the beginning of the month, everything changed and he said that he couldn’t keep me after all. It was then that Glenavon got in touch."

Blessed with height and strength, Farrell has played in attack for virtually his entire career. "I tend to be given the job of winning the ball in the air and generally leading the line," he reflected. "Whilst I like to push forward and look for opportunities inside the penalty-area, there is more to my game than simply being an out-and-out targetman. I can come deep and link up the play reasonably well and I have a good pair of feet. I am not sure how Jimmy Brown intends to use me long-term."

The son of Bobbie Farrell, a top League of Ireland striker with Bohemians and St Patrick’s Athletic, Robbie has been impressed with what he has seen of the present Glenavon squad. "I was pleasantly surprised at the quality in the team when I played against Lurgan Celtic at the beginning of August and again when we played Newry in the CIS Cup last weekend," he continued. "Most of the lads are very comfortable in possession and want to pass the ball to feet. Although, having just been promoted, it will take us a while to adjust to the pace of the top division, I can see a lot of potential at the club."

CIS OPENING DAY DEFEAT

Newry City 1-0 Glenavon

Glenavon lost the first competitive game of the season in this Group 2 CIS Insurance Cup match against Newry City at The Marshes but were unlucky not to get something from the match. City's right winger, Barry Curran, had a simple  44th minute tap to give his side the lead when Damien Whitehead's miscued shot landed at his feet.

Glenavon debutant Shea Campbell had an effort disallowed for offside in the 14th minute and he was unlucky in the final 10 minutes when Robinson made a good save to deny him an equaliser. For Newry Whitehead missed a great opportunity in each half when he put close-range headers wide with the goal at his mercy.

Read the match report.

In the other game in Glenavon's group a Vinnie Arkins header gave Portadown a 1-0 win over Ballymena United at Shamrock Park.

BROWN REVIEWS NEWRY GAME

Glenavon lost its opening CIS Insurance Cup fixture away to Newry City on Saturday. Despite fielding new strike double-act Robbie Farrell and Shea Campbell, the Lurgan Blues were beaten 0-1. "It was an encouraging 90 minutes from our point of view," added Brown. "We showed plenty of commitment and application, and at times played some good football, but our finishing was poor. Paul Evans in the first-half and Shea during the last ten minutes had clear-cut scoring opportunities. I was particularly pleased with the contributions made by Aaron Black in defence and Campbell up front."

On Saturday Glenavon begins its competitive season at Mourneview Park with the first Mid-Ulster derby of the campaign. Portadown – 1-0 victors against Ballymena Utd – make the short journey to Lurgan for the CIS Insurance Cup sectional joist.

PLAYERS RELEASED

Glenavon, who completed the signing of Shea Campbell, Robbie Farrell and Conor Walsh last week, has released defenders Gary Clifford and Chris Deegan and midfielders Gareth Murray and Tony McShane. The move is an accounting exercise as new boss Jimmy Brown endeavours to keep spending within the budget set by the board for the season. "Although I have only been at the club for a few weeks, I am having to make difficult decisions already," the former Glentoran assistant boss explained. "However, I have explained to the lads in question why this has happened and, as disappointed as they all are, I think they understand. Unfortunately, if I want to bring in new faces, I must keep the books balanced. The reasons for that are self-evident."

Clifford, Murray and McShane all played a part in last season’s successful promotion push; Deegan was one of previous boss Tommy Kincaid’s summer acquisitions. "At times football can be a hard game," added Brown. "Some players had to go and these are the lads that I have chosen to release. I would prefer not to have to take this step at such an early stage, but I don’t have an alternative."

FRIENDLY RESULT

Glenavon 4-0 Lurgan Celtic

Glenavon won this final pre-season match against neighbours Lurgan Celtic quite comfortably. The home side's starting line-up featured front men Shea Campbell and Robbie Farrell.

Farrell, who last season played for next week's CIS opponents, Newry City, scored the opener in the 38th minute with a powerful 20 yard drive into the roof of the net and added a second in the 63rd. He also had a 'goal' disallowed for offside and almost completed a hat trick in the 65th minute when his shot clipped the top of the bar.

Robbie Farrell nicks the ball round the keeper and ...

... slots it home from a tight angle.

Marty Verner replaced Farrell and within ten minutes had grabbed a double for himself, with McMahon and Campbell providing the assists.

Line-ups:

Glenavon: McDonald, Walker, Reid (Deegan), Black, Montgomery (Clifford), Murray (McVeigh), O'Connor (McMahon), Walsh (McShane), S Campbell, Farrell (Verner), Gawley (Evans)

Lurgan Celtic: Smith, D O'Kane, Mackle, G Magennis, C O'Kane (McEvoy), J Campbell, Murphy, Collins, McKeever (S Magennis), McCourt (Hill (Rooney)), Lavery

JIMMY SIGNS TRIO

Campbell, Farrell and Conor Walsh Join Blues

Glenavon has agreed terms and conditions with former Ballymena United and Linfield striker Shea Campbell. Campbell signed for the Lurgan Blues tonight (Tuesday) before a first team training session, disappointing a number of other clubs that were seeking his services.

Glenavon manager Jimmy Brown has signed former Newry City player Robbie Farrell. Farrell guested for Glenavon last Saturday against Lurgan Celtic and scored a brace.

Jimmy Brown has also signed former Glentoran starlet, Conor Walsh. Brown knows the youngster well from his time with the Belfast Glens and is confident that he has great potential and can do a job for him at Mourneview.

Brown reckons that Glenavon is in reasonable shape going into its first season back in the top flight. “The players are fit and eager to do well,” said the Belfast man. “Although the last few weeks have been difficult, things are settling and the focus is now very much on the opening match at Newry. With a Setanta Cup place on offer, the CIS Insurance Cup has suddenly taken on a new status. Portadown, Ballymena Utd and Newry will all be tough opponents, but we will be going into every match looking to win it.”

BROWN LOOKS AHEAD

Speaking after the friendly with Finn Harps, Jimmy Brown recognizes that he faces a tremendous challenge but, he says "I'm looking forward to the challenge. When I played the game and actually when I managed as well, Glenavon was one of the top four clubs in the country and I aim to try and bring that status back again."

"I've looked at the squad last night at training and in tonight's game and there's certainly the basis on which to work. Having said that, any manager will tell you, you are always looking to bring in quality players. If I can do that over a period of time then I will but there's certainly a basis there and tremendous enthusiasm and there's really a will to stay in the Premier League and not only to stay there but to do well in it. So I'm happy with the attitude in the dressing room and with that attitude they can certainly help me."

"If we can hit mid-table and achieve some measure of success in some of the Cup competitions this season then it would be a tremendous achievement. The main thing is to consolidate and then build on it from that."

PRE-SEASON RESULT

Glenavon 2-2 Finn Harps

Both sides played some good football in this entertaining friendly encounter, with the visitors taking the lead in the 32nd minute when Steven Capper's shot caught out Andy McDonald who may have been unsighted by the sun. The Donegal men are well into the Eircom League season which finds them languishing at the bottom of the Premier Division table. The former Linfield and Coleraine midfielder, Tony Gorman, has recently taken over the job of player-manager at Finn Park and had an excellent game himself tonight.

Glenavon struck back in the second half with two goals in as many minutes, the equaliser a solo effort from Aidan McVeigh and the second from Marty Verner after he broke through the Harps defence and squared the ball to McVeigh. His shot deflected off a defender and left his strike partner with a simple side-foot finish from close range. The lead did not last long, though, with centre half Shane Bradley scoring from a corner just 3 minutes later.

Speaking after the match, Glenavon's new manager, Jimmy Brown was "Very pleased with the result even though it was 2-2. When we were leading 2-1 I thought we were doing very well but I think the fitness levels, with Finn Harps being well into their season, began to tell towards the end. They equalized but it's a tremendous result for the players."

BATEY IS JIMMY BROWN'S NEW ASSISTANT

Jimmy Brown has appointed former Bangor, Glentoran and Glenavon midfielder Pete Batey as his assistant. "I know Pete well from our time together at the Oval and reckon that he could be an asset to us," added Jimmy. "The manager’s job at Mourneview is a big challenge for me. After my partnership with Roy [Coyle] ended I was keen to get back into the game quickly. When Glenavon approached me I had no hesitation in saying ‘yes’. Now I am looking forward to the start of the season. Whilst the squad is quite strong, it goes without saying that I have my own ideas about how I would like to see it develop."

Meanwhile Brown has made an unsuccessful bid to hold onto highly-rated former Larne striker Mark Dickson. The 23 year old goal getter had indicated that he intended to re-join the Inver Park men or sign for Ballymena Utd in the aftermath of Tommy Kincaid’s departure from the Mourneview Park hot seat. However, despite that, Brown made a bold attempt over the weekend to persuade "Dicko" to commit his future to the Blues. "Mark Dickson is a good player, one of the best of his type in the league and I would like to hold onto him," said Brown. "Unfortunately, although he had said that he wanted to join the club earlier in the summer, the fact that his contract with Larne did not expire until this week prevented Glenavon from registering him. Now, since Tommy left, he has had a change of heart and, according to what he said during our chat, is unlikely to remain with us."

Dickson turned down an approach from Newry City last Friday, but during the past few days he has trained with both Larne and Ballymena Utd. Last Wednesday evening he scored in Glenavon’s narrow 2-3 home defeat against SPL club Falkirk. "Mark and I had a very amicable conversation," added Brown. "Without putting him under pressure, I made it clear that there was a place for him in my squad. I understand that he was extremely impressed with the set-up at Mourneview and enjoyed the three weeks or so that he trained with the rest of the boys. However, he told me that he was most likely to end up back at Larne or with Ballymena Utd."

glenavonfc.com is the official site of Glenavon Football Club and the support of, and contributions from club officials are appreciated. The webmaster however can give no guarantee that the pages accurately reflect the opinions of individual directors or the management of Glenavon Football Club.