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JANUARY 2007

31st January: DAVID WARD SIGNED

Colin Malone has secured the signature of Newry City striker David Ward. The 26 year old Drogheda man had re-joined the Marshes outfit in May last year when he was recruited by Roy Coyle from Armagh City, having had a previous spell at Newry before Coyle took over.

Malone had also made a very good offer to Glentoran striker Chris Morgan but the 31 year old former Linfield star, who had slipped further down the pecking order with the arrival of Michael Ward, has decided to remain at The Oval until his contract runs out at the end of the season.

27th January: BLUES PAY PENALTY

Larne 3-0 Glenavon

Gerard McMahon's 33rd minute penalty miss, his spot kick crashing back off the post, and a goal in stoppage time for Tomasz Grzegorczyk turned the game around after Glenavon had played the better football in the first half. Neal Gawley had Glenavon's best other chance of the half with a smart turn and shot inside the box that Keenan did well to save and gather at the second attempt with Barry Meehan almost pouncing on the loose ball.

Neal Gawley leaves everyone in his wake

Gawley missed a great chance to equalise in the 74th minute when he blasted over from inside the six yard box from Bracken's flick on. Grzegorczyk doubled his and Larne's tally in the 81st minute after Bertie Fulton had burst through two tackles with the ball breaking kindly for him. Rice parried his fierce shot but the rebound left his Polish team-mate with a simple tap in. Grzegorczyk returned the favour three minutes later when his pass set up a chance for Fulton and he finished with an emphatic volley past the helpless Glenavon keeper.

The Glenavon players knew their luck was out when Conor Walsh's injury time shot came back off the cross bar to deny the side even a late consolation goal.

"It's difficult to put a positive spin on that. They say 'goals change games' and that was certainly true today. I thought in the first half we were well in control, got a penalty - which was a bit dubious - but we missed it. That didn't do us any favours and when they scored it gave them a lift at the end of a half which I thought we controlled.

"The second half was disappointing in that we just couldn't penetrate them. We didn't have that many chances and we were caught on the break on numerous occasions in the last 10-15 minutes and eventually we paid the penalty.

"It seemed in the second half that the harder we tried the worse we got. It was a very big three points for both Clubs but we are away down the road with nothing. Three points would have taken us to safety and that makes it all the harder to take."

Gerard McMahon

"Three nil doesn't really reflect the match at all. If I'd have scored the penalty we're probably coming in one-nil up if not more. We had a lot of pressure especially in the first half but they came out in the second half with that goal just before half time and, though we put them under pressure, they hit us on the break.

"The pitch wasn't great for getting the ball down and trying to create chances so you're relying on a bit of luck or a bit of inspiration from somebody and unfortunately today we didn't get any."

23rd January: MID-ULSTER LOSS

Glenavon 1-2 Annagh United

Glenavon lost 1-2 against Annagh United in the Quarter Finals of the Rushmere Shopping Mid Ulster-Cup on Tuesday night.

With a starting line-up showing seven changes from Saturday's draw against Distillery, there still should have been enough quality in the Glenavon side to deal with the Second Division outfit but the home side never seemed to gel and it was a poor performance ahead of an important sequence of games coming up in the next few weeks. Annagh United were up for the game and credit must be given to them for a spirited performance.

In fact Glenavon did take the lead in just the 7th minute when Davy Hawthorne placed a shot past Niall Currie after his initial effort had rebounded to him off the base of a post. Paddy Hope went close with a near post header ten minutes later but former Armagh City defender Alan Murphy rose unchallenged ten yards out in the 31st minute to head in a long free kick from the left wing, with a sense of deja vu amongst the sparse crowd following the White's equaliser on Saturday.

Six minutes later United took the lead when former Glenavon midfielder Michael Crowe slotted home what proved to be the winner from a great low cross by another ex-Mourneview player, Brian Quilty.

Just before half time David Bracken fired narrowly wide from a knock down by Stephen Magennis and Magennis himself tried a lob from the edge of the box that Currie dealt with easily.

There were no further goals in the second half with Currie making a good save from Gawley's shot through a crowded box and Glenavon substitute Michael McKerr having his shot headed off the line by Murphy after a good run into the box by Hawthorne. Davidson had a great chance to seal it for the visitors but fired well wide from 10 yards.

Marty Havern came on in the last minute and almost took the game to extra time. His smart turn and shot was brilliantly turned around the post by Currie and, from the corner, Atiba Charles put a header over the bar from Havern's cross.

The only positives from the game were that Conor Walsh and Gavin McDonnell finished their two-match suspensions and David Bracken and Stephen Caffrey both got a full 90 minutes under their belts.

Glenavon team: McFredrick, McAnallen, Black, Hope, Charles, Caffrey, Gawley, Hawthorne, Bracken, Magennis, P Walsh. Subs: Havern for Walsh (90), Knox for Magennis (70), McKerr for McAnallen (70)

20th January: GOOD RUN GOES ON

Glenavon 1-1 Lisburn Distillery

David Bracken, left, celebrates his first goal for Glenavon

David Bracken's goal in the 28th minute of his debut helped Glenavon maintain the unbeaten run that started on New Year's Day at Stangmore Park. Unfortunately an 80th minute equaliser by Whites' substitute James Bell took a bit of the shine off but, with the visitors having the lion's share of the possession, it would be hard to deny that they deserved at least a point.

Adrian Harper keeps an eye on former Glenavon player Marty Verner

Bracken's goal was the culmination of a neat move in which he played a one-two with Ross Black, the young full back then sliding a measured through ball into the 20 year old striker's run. He still had work to do but he took the ball around Mathews and slotted it in from a narrow angle.

David Bracken steers the ball past Philip Matthews

Ten minutes from time a long Paul Muir free kick into the Glenavon box was missed by the defence and dropped at the feet of Bell who controlled it and blasted it past a helpless Rice. Damien McLoughlin had a chance to win it late on but he tried to chip the Glenavon keeper when emulating his team mate and going for power would have been a better option.

"It was a tough game on paper and it was a tough game on the pitch. I thought, again, that everyone put in a lot of effort and commitment. Bracken's goal was an excellent strike. He took his goal very very well which is promising and from there on I thought we held our own. There wasn't a whole lot of service for him but it was a quality finish from the chance he did get.

"Territorially Distillery came at us more but at the time they actually scored the goal I thought they were spent, they had run out of ideas. They had tried everything and we had held them out comfortably enough. Paul Rice wasn't pulling off too many saves, if any.

"The goal we conceded was disappointing. It was a bread and butter free kick and we missed the initial header and it fell to a totally unmarked player, which is disappointing, and he picked his spot well.

"I was pleased with the defending up until then. Distillery had tried to change things but they weren't finding their way in and I thought they're not going to score; we're solid in defence here today. If anything we could catch them on the break but they got the goal and the game opened up a wee bit and went from end to end from that.

"I though over the 90 minutes a draw was a fair result but it's still a positive result against a team that's a good bit up the league from us. It's another point and it keeps the run going from the start of the year. Hopefully we can carry that on again into Tuesday cum Saturday.

"We didn't have as much of the attacking play. We got our goal and defended it well. Generally we tend to concede within ten minutes of scoring. I've told the boys that, if you get a goal up, take the sting out of it. Put your two banks of four up. Kill the game off a wee bit, let it settle down again. I thought we did that and held on to our lead very well and they had run out of ideas but we were caught with that one which was a disappointing goal defensively."

19th January: HARPO EXTENDS DEAL

Adrian Harper has signed a 1½ year extension to his contract which will take him up to May 2008. Colin Malone is delighted to have secured the services of the midfield dynamo. "A number of clubs were pursuing Adrian for his signature" Malone told glenavonfc.com "but he is very happy at Mourneview and he has established himself as a vital component of the team. I know the supporters will be excited to have him on board for the rest of this season and the next."

18th January: STRIKER SIGNED

Colin Malone yesterday completed the signing of striker David Bracken from Shelbourne. The Ireland Youth International made his senior debut as a 17 year old for Bohemians in an FAI League Cup Final. He was loaned out to Dundalk to gain experience but unfortunately fractured a bone in his foot.

Now 20, Bracken played most of last season for the Shelbourne U21 side, scoring 15-20 goals. Described as a cool finisher with genuine pace, when with Bohemians he filled in for Tony Grant when the former Glenavon favourite was injured. Colin Malone sought the advice of former Shels manager Pat Fenlon before signing the promising youngster.

16th January: IT'S THE WHITES IN THE CUP

"See, if we ever meet in the Irish Cup ..."

Glenavon's opponents in the 6th Round of the Irish Cup will be Lisburn Distillery who defeated Coleraine 2-1 in Tuesday night's postponed 5th Round tie. The 6th Round tie will be played at Ballyskeagh on Saturday 10th February.

13th January: COPS OUT - JUST

A 5th minute goal from Barry Meehan, his first since signing for Glenavon, was, in the end, all that separated the sides in this 5th Round Irish Cup tie, played in atrocious weather conditions at Mourneview Park. Three minutes earlier he had found himself in an almost identical position inside the box when Harper split the defence with an  excellent pass but on that occasion the keeper made a good save with his foot.

Meehan made no mistake with his second chance. This time it was Conor Walsh with the decisive pass with Meehan taking his time and slotting the ball into the bottom corner of Hughes' net.

Colin Malone was just glad to be through to the next round "It was a disappointing match. Even though the conditions were terrible we never really got our game together from start to finish.

"The positives we can take out of it are we are in the next round, we've a clean sheet and we've kept our good run going since the start of the year. Hopefully that will continue. We've played a lot better than that and lost.

"We created the best chances in the first half but it certainly didn't go all our own way and we lived dangerously at times. The wind was a big leveller but they came with a lot of effort and a lot of commitment and probably outfought us at times but at the end of the day you have to be happy with a clean sheet and a win. It wasn't the prettiest but it's still a positive result for us."

9th January SUSPENSIONS HIT

Conor Walsh and Gavin McDonnell have both been hit with two-game suspensions, starting Monday 15th January. The bans mean that, barring a replay in the Irish Cup, the players will miss the Carnegie Premier League games on Saturday week against Lisburn Distillery and the following Saturday away to Larne. Distillery will be without the services of Marty Verner, Darren Armour and Ryan McCann for the clash at Mourneview.

Assistant Manager Neil Carson also picked up a two-game ban following his sending off at Solitude after he protested about the dismissal of Atiba Charles.

RESERVES WIN 6-0

Glenavon Reserves had a thumping 6-0 victory tonight (Tuesday) in the Carnegie Reserve League fixture at Mourneview Park against Dungannon Swifts. Marty Havern scored two of the goals with Paul Walsh, Eamon Murray, Barry Meehan and an own goal completing the impressive tally.

6th January: BIG WIN FOR BLUES

Glenavon 3-1 Ballymena United

Adrian Harper had a superb game, scoring two goals.

Two goals and a man of the match performance from Adrian Harper, who covered every inch of the pitch in a free role ahead of the central midfield of Stephen Caffrey and Conor Walsh, helped seal a superb win for Glenavon.

His first goal came in the 7th minute when he blocked an attempted clearance from the Sky Blues keeper Paul Murphy from a back pass by skipper Albert Watson. His first effort was blocked on the line by Murphy but he slotted home the rebound past Gary Haveron on the goal line. Stephen Magenniss, only starting his second game for Glenavon because of an injury in the warm up to Neil Gawley, doubled the lead when his curling low cross into the box was missed by everyone including the unfortunate United keeper whose day had just gone from bad to worse.

Stephen Magenniss scored on his home debut

It didn't get any better for the keeper in the 39th minute when Magenniss' ball over the top for McConnell's run caught the visitor's defence square and the keeper appeared to handle the ball just outside his area but even then he couldn't prevent the lively Harper from latching on to the loose ball and firing into the unguarded net.

Ballymena poured forward in the second half and it took a goal line clearance from Caffrey to deal with King's free kick after Rice came through a crowd of bodies but failed to claim the ball. The Glenavon keeper did better in the 65th minute when he saved well from Randall Reid's snap shot after Scates had squared the ball across the area to him. Five minutes later the roles were reversed when Reid set up a chance for Scates but this time Atiba Charles was on hand to clear off the line.

The Sky Blues pulled a fortunate goal back in the 75th minute after Paul Rice had caught Callaghan's right wing cross only to be clearly barged off the ball which somehow ended up rolling into the Glenavon net. Atiba Charles, speaking after the match, denied it was an own goal by him "I heard the shout of 'keeper' so I left it then Paul was fouled by their striker and the ball ended up rolling into the net. Maybe I should have headed it anyway?"

Paul Rice certainly wasn't happy with the referee's decision either. "I couldn't believe it when the whistle didn't go. I had the ball and the next thing I knew I was thumped in the back and ended up flat on my face" he said after the match.

Paul Walsh almost extended Glenavon's lead in the 82nd minute with a smart turn and shot that went narrowly wide  before Kevin Kelbie stabbed a decent chance wide in the final minute.

It was a game in which Glenavon took their chances in the first half and defended resolutely throughout to earn a well deserved and vital three points.

"That was a big three points, with Ballymena coming here on the back of a great win for themselves, full of confidence, and I thought in the opening period we were very very good. We pressed the game at every opportunity and, deservedly, I felt, came in at half time three up and it could have been more.

"In the second half we knew it was going to be difficult. Ballymena would change their game plan and push more players forward and I think we showed grit and determination to keep them at bay. There were two sides to the game obviously, one was the more positive going forward side, and I thought the second half was the more positive defensively-minded, not giving away what we had gained in the first half. I think we learnt our lesson from the last game against United when we were two-nil up and lost 4-2. Today we got three-nil up and I thought we defended well.

"I'm delighted to get three points and that's four out of six at the start of the New Year which is encouraging and we've still got players to come in, particularly on the striker front.

"Adrian Harper's energy was unbelievable. We thought Adrian's fitness levels would give them a problem because he's a boy that just bombs forward, he just keeps bombing! We decided to give him a free role ahead of the two big midfielders and it worked a treat. He closed down everything and he caused mayhem for them!

"We maybe got a wee bit panicky in the second half but we hadn't been in that position before; three-nil up at home. The last thing we needed was to throw this one away so, in the second half, we put a lot into it. People might think 'well they didn't play the same football' but the effort and commitment was still there. It was just we had to re-organize and anticipate the bodies that were going to come forward from Ballymena and make sure they weren't going to get a foothold in the game. I thought the goal they did get was a free kick out; a definite foul on Paul Rice.

"It's very pleasing for the team to finally get a good home win, a good comprehensive home win, but more pleasing for the fans. I'm sure they're away home now lifted and it'll give them a good weekend. They've had too many bad ones here so I hope they enjoy it. I'll certainly enjoy this one!

"Ballymena are a quality side and you only have to look at their result the other night so I'm very pleased for the team and supporters and everyone else associated with the Club. Sometimes you get the performance but not the result but today I thought we got both."

NEW FACES AT MOURNEVIEW

Stephen Magenniss	Ian Wallace
Barry Meehan

WILLIAM WALKER PRESENTATION

Members of the William Walker Supporters' Club present Gerard McMahon with a donation towards his testimonial year fund.

January 4th: WALSH SIGNS NEW DEAL

Glenavon fans will be pleased with the news, released tonight (Thursday), that Conor Walsh has signed a new 2½ year deal. Colin Malone was clearly delighted when he revealed the news exclusively to glenavonfc.com tonight. He recently described Walsh as his team's 'main man' after he was forced to retire with a thigh strain on Saturday.

In a separate announcement tonight, Malone revealed he had narrowly failed in a bid to sign Stephen Dobbie from Scottish side Dumbarton. Dobbie, who is currently leading scorer in the Scottish League Division 3, has accepted a move to another Scottish League side.

 MACCER MOVES TO DC

Stephen McAlorum has today (Thursday) confirmed his move to Donegal Celtic. Writing in his programme notes for Saturday's game, Colin Malone paid tribute to the young midfielder "The loss of Stephen McAlorum is not one we needed. We did offer him an improved contract but with his first team opportunities limited he felt he had to move on. Stephen has been good for Glenavon for the past five years and we wish him well at Donegal Celtic."

In a separate move Barry Reid has joined Crusaders with Colin Beggs moving in the opposite direction to rejoin Glenavon.

January 2nd: CAFFREY SIGNS

Stephen Caffrey pictured during his previous spell with Glenavon

As part of the deal with Bohemians, Colin Malone is also hoping to secure the services of a striker but he was unwilling to reveal any names until that deal is finalised.

January 1st: HARD-FOUGHT DRAW

Dungannon Swifts 1-1 Glenavon

A superbly struck third minute goal by Conor Walsh saw Glenavon take a lead that lasted until ten minutes from time when Mark McAllister popped up at the back post to head home a deserved equaliser for the home side. The Swifts, whose passing had let them down in the first half, dominated possession in the second and hit the woodwork twice.

The game started with Swifts on the attack, winning a succession of corners but, in Glenavon's first real attack, Walsh flicked the ball over McCabe's head with his right foot before connecting with a superb left foot half-volley that beat Nelson all ends up. Gawley's well-struck shot was saved by Nelson minutes later before Walsh was forced to retire with a thigh strain. His replacement was new signing Ian Wallace who joined fellow debutant, striker Stephen Magenniss, who Colin Malone had given a starting place up front alongside Nathan McConnell in a 4-4-2 formation, with Atiba Charles at right back.

The Glenavon manager was dealt another blow within minutes when Marty Hunter had to come off suffering from concussion after he had sustained a blow to the back of the head in the first few minutes. This time it was another debutant, Barry Meehan who replaced Hunter with Charles moving to centre back and Wallace to right back in another reshuffle in the defence.

Rod McAree struck a free kick just wide in the 26th minute and McCabe had a low shot that was held comfortably by Rice in the 41st minute. Two minutes from the interval Harper won the ball in the Swifts' box but McConnell missed his kick as the loose ball spun towards him.

In the second half Harry Fay brought on experience in the form of Rory Hamill for Burns and the former Glentoran man made an instant impact. His 61st minute low cross flew right across the six yard area with no-one getting a touch and Rice dealt well with his shot from the right side of the box on 72 minutes.

In the 80th minute Glenavon failed to clear a right wing corner and the ball was crossed back in from the left by Niall McGinn for McAllister to nod in at the back post to draw his side back on level terms. The last ten minutes was frantic with the home side twice hitting the post, with Scullion's right foot shot and a flick header in a crowded box also hitting the upright. Ross Black also had to hack the ball clear after a deflection off McDonnell had wrong-footed Rice.

"That was a good point away from home. Backs to the wall stuff and we rode our luck today but I thought everybody played their part, worked extremely hard and we would have been totally gutted if we had got nothing out of the game. To come here on a day such as today and put up such a good stirring performance is a credit to the players.

"Losing Conor Walsh was a major blow as it would be to any team, but particularly ours - he's our main man - and then to lose Marty Hunter soon afterwards, but the guys who did come in did extremely well. They're absolutely shattered in there but they gave their all and when you get that from players you're always in with a shout.

"The important thing was to get the fans back on board. We let them down on Saturday after six weeks hard work. We lost the fans, really, on Saturday. Today I think we got them back again with a good stirring performance and it was a very good point at the end of the day. Hopefully we can build on this in 2007. We've three home games coming up and a lot of our season will depend on how those three games go."