FEBRUARY 2005

26th February 2005: BLUES WIN SHOOT-OUT

Glenavon trailed to a 13th minute goal by Moyola winger Liam O'Donnell after he slammed in from an indirect free kick awarded when Glenavon keeper Simon Steele picked up a back pass. It wasn't until the 6th minute of stoppage time that Davy McAlinden, who Tommy Kincaid had pushed up front in the final 10 minutes, thumped an unstoppable header past Davy Wells.

Stephen McAlorum scored a delightful goal in the first period of extra time as he got on the end of McKnight's pass after good work by Hyndes deep in his own half.

Mark Morgan rescued the Castledawson side with a back post header from a disputed left wing corner three minutes from the end of extra time.

With no further scoring, the game went to penalties with Walsh, McAlinden, Montgomery and Topley scoring for Glenavon, and Duffy and Lagan netting for Moyola to leave the visitors going home happy with a 4-2 shoot-out win and another semi-final to look forward to.

Report

Post-match Interviews

David McAlinden has come back into the team and he’s been scoring goals too! “Whenever I came to Glenavon I started well and the team was winning. Then I had a dip in form. I know the supporters had a bit of a go at me but no one was more disappointed with my performances at that time than me. I tried not to pay any attention to the negative comments from the fans. I just kept working hard and it’s paid off for me. The gaffer, backroom staff and all the boys stick behind each other and so that helps us all to re-cover lost form. Everyone in the squad helps to give confidence to everyone else.

Davy McAlinden: “I’ve come back in and scored two goals in two games – that must be the best ratio at the club! No seriously, I’ve scored three goals during my time at Glenavon and it’s always nice to score. I aim to stay in the team. The gaffer says if you play well, you stay in, and that’s good enough for me.”

Assistant manager Wayne McMeekin conceded that Glenavon had not beaten Moyola Park decisively to go through to the semi-final of the Intermediate Cup, “I thought we started well and then they got the goal and we fell apart a bit. Having said that, we kept going, we kept at it. There’s good character in the team. We saw that last Wednesday night when we went down to ten men. We seem to wait until something goes wrong before their character comes out – somebody has to score against us or someone has to get sent off! We are trying to get them to get a good start, get one or two up, and then enjoy the kind of football we know they are capable of.

“It’s hard to play football on some of these pitches. That pitch today is good and wide but the ball was bobbling about all over the place and makes it hard to play. That’s no excuse but it’s just getting them to play well from the start. Then they’ll not have to battle so much and we’ll all enjoy the football.

“Today we also had a lot of spectators due to injury, suspension or unavailability. Kieran O’Connor, Scott Walker, Jonny Wright, Gerard McMahon, Derek Delaney, Paul Evans, Aiden McVeigh and of course Andy McDonald were all missing. Now we’re going to lose Johnny Montgomery. It’s a sort of a mix-and-match at the minute trying to get a settled team.

Jonny Wright is making good progress with his injury problem. He is almost sure to be fit for selection come our home game against Ballymoney United on March, 11th (Friday night).

“We’ve been to a final already. We’re into the final of the Mid Ulster Cup and now into the semi-final of the Intermediate Cup, and we’ve still got half of our league campaign to go. It’s not really ‘panic stations’ is it? A lot of teams would like to be where we are. The problem is that we’re not playing entertaining football. There’s no doubt we are capable of it but it’s just not happening consistently enough.”

With regard to the goal keeping situation, McMeekin confirmed that the club has approached the IFA for clarification. “It’s what we might call a ‘grey area’. To date no official response has been received and so we not in a position to make a statement. We still have Andy McDonald available until the disciplinary hearing takes place.”

23rd February 2005: BLUES REACH MID-ULSTER CUP FINAL

Glenavon reached the final of the Rushmere Shopping Mid Ulster Cup with a 4-2 extra-time victory over Armagh City at Holm Park on Wednesday. Glenavon took an early lead when Walsh smashed home the rebound after City keeper Ryan McConville could only parry a stinging drive from Derek Delaney. The young keeper made a string of saves to deny Glenavon as the visitors dominated possession in the first half.

Events took a different turn in first half stoppage time when Andy McDonald failed to hold  Michael Crowe's right wing corner and the referee adjudged that the ball had crossed the line. The Glenavon players were convinced that it hadn't and  in the midst of the protests the Glenavon keeper foolishly pushed Mr Shanks and was rightly red-carded. Johnny Montgomery donned the keeper's jersey for the remainder of the match.

There were no further goals in the second half of normal time but Davy McAlinden missed a great chance to clinch it in stoppage time when he missed a back post header from Walsh's deep free kick. The big centre half did score with a back post header in the second minute of extra time when he dived to direct substitute Johnny Topley's free kick into the net.

Topley also provided the assist two minutes later when his pass released Walsh and his pace took him on a brilliant run down the right and into the box where he beat a last-ditch tackle and rounded the keeper to score into the empty net to give Glenavon a 3-1 lead.

The hosts rarely tested Glenavon's makeshift keeper and he generally coped with most until stoppage time at the end of the first period of extra time when he was out jumped by Armagh's towering centre half, Alan Murphy, who nodded in at the back post from O'Neill's deep cross.

City piled on the pressure but Glenavon were dangerous on the break as the hosts pushed forward. In the final minute City lost possession from their own throw as McKnight nipped in to dispossess the defender and slip the ball to Walsh. He beat the offside trap and sealed a Man-of-the-Match winning performance when he completed his hat-trick with another cool finish past the stranded keeper. Report

McDonald "I was totally wrong"

Andy McDonald was "absolutely gutted" with himself after being sent off during the Mid Ulster Cup semi-final at Holm Park, Armagh. Glenavon went on to win the tie 2-4 aet, but that was little consolation to McDonald.

"I hold my hands up and admit I was totally wrong and deserve to be punished. I just love to play football and when I play, I'm totally committed. I have no doubt that the ball did not cross the line. When the referee gave the goal, that competitive side of me came out as a sense of injustice and ...I lost it. That's no excuse and I apologise to the referee for my actions.

"I have to apologise to the fans, the manager and my team mates. I've let Glenavon down at a very important time in probably its biggest season. I love playing in this team. There is great spirit in the dressing room. We have all known what we have to do to get Glenavon back into the premier division. Now I've let everyone down. I’m absolutely gutted and will have to live with the consequences of my actions tonight. What more can I say?”

Tommy Kincaid will have plenty to say to his first choice goalkeeper. But that will remain a private matter between the two and TK will presently consider his options for Saturday’s Intermediate Cup quarter-final away to Moyola Park and the rest of his team’s league campaign.

McDonald’s sending off took the gloss off Gareth Walsh’s hat trick and the team’s achievement in reaching a second cup final of the season.

24th February: Tommy Kincaid has spoken to Andy McDonald. “Andy has apologised to me and the team. There is no justification whatsoever for how he reacted and his actions deserve to be punished. Having said that, from a manager’s point of view, Andy has been red-carded in two competitions that, to my mind, Glenavon should not have been entered for. I have to respect the wishes of the board and try to win every game. We have to accept what has happened, rally round, and get on with the job we have to do. I know that you’ll find that my team will have that determination."

"Let’s not forget that Walshy scored a super hat trick last night against Armagh City and the team is into another cup final. Gareth deserves credit for his achievement and so too does Johnny Montgomery and the defence for a sterling job when we were reduced to ten men.”

18th February 2005: BACK ON TRACK

Glenavon 3-0 Moyola Park

Glenavon got its League campaign back on track with a 3-0 victory over Moyola Park tonight (Friday). The defeat for Moyola will have put a dampener on the Club's 125th Anniversary celebrations but Glenavon were not feeling in a generous mood on the pitch. At times it looked as though Glenavon would never score with visiting keeper Davy Wells making a string of fine saves and Glenavon also wasting some good opportunities. Gerard McMahon finally broke the deadlock in the 68th minute when he tapped in from close range after new signing Kieran O'Connor's flick on took the ball away from Wells as he tried to cut out Walsh's cross.

Glenavon's other new signing, Scott Walker, also played the 90 minutes. In addition to an assist for the first goal, O'Connor got on the score sheet twice in the final six minutes to seal the win for his new side.  Report.

Post-match Reactions

Kieran O’Connor

Kieran O’Connor reflected on his first game for Glenavon:

“It was really good to play in a strong, footballing side like Glenavon. This team passes the ball well and it suits my style of play. My game is all about picking the ball up and going forward.

“Tommy Kincaid is the main factor in me coming to the club. He has always given me the confidence to go and play my game. Thankfully he came in for me. He just told me to go out and enjoy myself tonight.

“I did take a bit of time to get into the game but I got my reward, two goals, in the end. To be honest I’d have been happy for any one of our boys to have scored just so long as we got the three points to keep Glenavon up in the push for promotion.”

Tommy Kincaid

Tommy Kincaid was pleased with his side’s endeavour tonight:

“People say you make your own luck and we certainly made our own luck tonight. We kept going and we played some great football. I thought there was only one team in it as regards any football being played. We looked really good tonight but needed the finished article and thankfully we got three of them!

“I asked the boys at half time to anticipate a bit better where the ball was going to drop and Gerard McMahon knocked the first one in. He was on the spot and ‘bump’ – it’s a goal! We just needed that wee bit of luck in front of the goal to get us started.

“After that Kieran O’Connor came in and got two goals on his debut. That’s what you can expect from Kieran. O’Connor is a ‘box-to-box man’. He’ll get into the box for an effort on target and next minute he’ll be back maybe clearing one off the line. He did it for me at Larne and I thought he and Scott Walker did well and I know that they can only get better. Kieran, Scott and Gerard all complemented each other and with Paul McKnight being busy I thought we looked like we were going to do something tonight and we did!”

Stephen McAlorum was absent tonight because of a call-up to the Northern Ireland Under 19 squad. TK was at pains to explain that the signing of O’Connor and Walker did not mean that the youngster’s chances of first team football had gone. Macker remains very much in the manager’s plans. “The two new players add more quality to the camp and players know that they have to produce the goods. If they don’t produce the goods then somebody else will take their place and that can only be healthy for us.”

Johnny Wright is not yet able to return to full training after injuring himself on the Glenavon training pitch. The good news is that directors have permitted the squad to train on Mourneview Park itself over the past couple of sessions.

Glenavon made a slight gain on both Armagh City and Donegal Celtic in the First Division race tonight but Kincaid refused to take any other results into consideration, “We’re not worried about what anybody else is doing. We have to keep our house in order. If we keep getting three points everything else takes care of itself.”

Looking forward to Wednesday night’s Mid-Ulster Cup semi final against Armagh TK said, “If you get to the semi-final of any competition I think you’ve got to go out and try to win it. We’ve already made it to the final of one competition this season, though we didn’t enjoy the result that night. It would be nice for the players, directors and supporters to get to another final. We’ll be aiming to do just that for the club.”

15th February 2005: TWO NEW SIGNINGS

Manager Tommy Kincaid has reacted swiftly in response to what he saw as a lack-lustre performance from some players in last Saturday’s game against Armagh City. TK has added midfielders Kieran O’Connor from Coleraine and Scott Walker from Dungannon Swifts to his squad and both players, subject to IFA ratification, will be available for selection for this Friday night’s league game against Moyola Park (Mourneview Park, kick off 7.45pm). “I want everyone at the club to know that we are not just sitting back and hoping that things will happen. We want promotion and I am not prepared to accept the level of performance we got from some players last Saturday. These signings are a further declaration of our intent.”

Kieran O'Connor	Scott Walker

Colin Forsythe, Director of Football, added, “We need a wee bit of extra ‘clout’ in the middle of the park to win tackles and give the forwards a chance. These lads have just become available so we’ve strengthened the squad and think that we’ve achieved a better balance. Obviously bringing players in means we have to let some go but we’ve more than half of our league programme still to contest and this is a measure of our intention to win promotion.”

12th February 2005:LEAGUE DEFEAT

Glenavon 0-2 Armagh City

Glenavon suffered its first loss in the League this season when current leaders Armagh City scored two second half goals. Glenavon failed to take advantage of the strong wind at their backs in the first half and also found former Lurgan Blues 'stopper' Paul Rice in fine form. He was in action inside the first minute and made excellent saves to deny Delaney McAlorum and McMahon. Andy McDonald made some fine saves for the home side but he was grateful for the woodwork when Hawthorne clipped the bar from 20 yards in the 65th minute. Armagh were at that stage enjoying a good passage of play and were making better use of the conditions. Hawthorne's run into the box and deflected shot in the 71st minute lead to the corner from which City took the lead. The corner was an in-swinger and Anto Reilly, signed this week by Colin Malone to replace the injured Kevin Bates, nodded in at the back post. Mark Turkington made the points safe for City three minutes from time when he chipped the ball over an exposed McDonald after a Glenavon attack broke down and City swept forward quickly.

Report

TK's Reaction

TK is disappointed but philosophical and determined.

“No one game is going to settle this league. And this result leaves us still fighting. It leaves us still in with a great shout. Armagh has got into a good position but they know that it’s not all over. There’s a long way to go.

“Anytime we got it down, we looked good, but we didn’t use the wind to our advantage in the first half the way they did in the second. And I have to say that we had players in the first half who didn’t perform. If players can’t lift themselves and bleed for Glenavon in a game like that then they really need to have a good look at themselves.

“It’s a defeat, our first league defeat. And it’s hard to take. But let’s face it, you’re always going to get defeats – every team gets beaten.

“It’s how you react to defeat that makes you stand out. We will stand up!”

Glenavon play Moyola Park at Mourneview Park this coming Friday night, 18 February. Kick off is 1945.

QUARTER FINAL DRAW

The IFA have announced the details of the Intermediate Cup Quarter Final Draw ...

Ties to be played Saturday, 26 February, kick off 2:00pm.

PLAYER OF THE MONTH

WELSHMAN ON BOARD!

Alan Welshman has been co-opted on to the Board of Directors until the end of the season. His specific role will be as line manager for the new Commercial Manager and to raise funds for the club.

Alan is a leading practitioner in business improvement techniques and his organisation, the Quality Improvement Network, places particular emphasis on a practical and results oriented approach on behalf of many major companies in Northern Ireland.

Alan commented, “I’m very proud to be involved and looking forward to the big challenge ahead. Ian McCollum is a hard act to follow but I’ll be working alongside him over the next couple of months to ensure continuity and to lay the foundation for development. Ian and I get on very well together and I’m looking forward to getting our heads together to see how we can take the club even further, from a commercial point of view.

“My father was a Lurgan man and he was proud to see me and my family coming along to Glenavon and getting involved with the club. Unfortunately he passed away last year and so this opportunity to serve the community is for him.”

FAITHFUL SERVANTS

5th February 2005: INTERMEDIATE CUP

Glenavon through on penalties

The Lurgan Blues were taken all the way to extra time and penalties by a plucky East Belfast side which had taken the lead, against the run of play, in the 38th minute when centre half James Wilson headed home after Colin Gallagher's initial header had been cleared off the line by Davy McAlinden. Earlier Glenavon had had two efforts cleared off the line by James Pavis, first from McVeigh after he had won a corner when his shot was saved one-handed by Rutherford and the follow up by McAlinden.

Report

Glenavon equalised in the 69th minute when McAlorum's perceptive diagonal ball found Topley on the left wing and he fed the ball into McVeigh in the box. Though his first effort was blocked he quickly recovered his feet and drilled a low shot into the bottom corner.

The Lurgan Blues were denied an obvious penalty when McVeigh was 'rugby tackled' in the 83rd minute but the striker should have scored a minute later when he was put clean through and side-stepped the keeper but missed with the goalmouth gaping!

With no further scoring in extra time, the match went to penalties with Glenavon being first up. McVeigh took the first and scored with McKnight, McAlinden, Walsh and McAlorum also successful. Andy McDonald saved the home side's second and third penalties and got a hand to the 6th but couldn't quite keep it out. With Stephen McAlorum scoring the 7th penalty the pressure was on the home side's young number 11, John McMullan. He struck his spot kick well but Andy McDonald made a great save to put Glenavon through to the next round.

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.