MARCH 2006

BERTIE CUNNINGHAM

Everyone at Glenavon Football Club will have been saddened to hear of the recent death of Bertie Cunningham. Bertie had been a Glenavon supporter for most of his 81 years. He was ‘hooked’ since his father took him to his first match, travelling from Dromore on the bar of his bicycle!

Bertie was a season ticket holder, a member of the Triangle Glenavon Supporters’ Club, a member of Glenavon’s ‘100’ Club and was a regular match ball sponsor. He travelled ‘home’ and ‘away’, including many of Glenavon’s European trips and missed very few games, and then only recently through ill health.

One of nature’s gentlemen and well respected at grounds around the country, Bertie will approach the pearly gates wearing his Glenavon tie and scarf.

Everyone at the club will miss him and extend condolences to the whole family circle.

25th March 2006: BLUES DENIED POINT

A hotly disputed offside decision denied Glenavon a last minute equaliser after Neal Gawley stroked home Davy McAlinden's headed pass. Both Gawley and Verner were then yellow-carded for protesting to the assistant and Verner foolishly continued to argue with the referee who then cautioned him again and dismissed him from the field of play. This unfortunately means that Glenavon will now be without the top scorer for the vital home game against Larne in a fortnight.

Mr Ginnett, who booked a total of six Glenavon players and issued only a single Glentoran caution, also failed to even speak to Willo McDonagh for a two-footed retaliation on Craig McMillen who was cautioned after he appeared to win the ball in a tackle on the Glentoran player.

Speaking after the game Neal Gawley was convinced he was behind McAlinden when he headed the ball forward and is adamant he was therefore not offside.

Glenavon had played well in the first half with Aidan McVeigh having the best opportunity but he blasted over from 14 yards after excellent work by Stephen McAlorum to win the ball and beat another player before picking out McVeigh with a low cross into the box.

Gavin Melaugh put the hosts ahead after 64 minutes when he slotted the ball home from a tight angle after Glenavon failed to clear the ball and it bounced back into the penalty area.

Post-match Reactions

Jim Brown: "Here we go again. Instead of talking about the effort that the players put in, and I was very proud of every one of them because they worked very hard. You come to The Oval and you're not expected to get anything and we didn't because of the decision the linesman made. He makes the decisions and we were deprived of a point but I was very proud of the players, the way they played, the way they handled themselves except until that moment when Marty was sent off - he should have had a bit more savvy about it. The decision was given, just get on with it.

"All in all it was a bad day but the positives from it were the team worked so hard and the team spirit was excellent."

18th March 2006: STALEMATE

Glenavon 0-0 Institute

This match was widely billed as a must-win game for both sides in the relegation battle but in the end it was a case of them cancelling each other out, with Glenavon recording a rare clean sheet.

Most of the action came in the final 15 minutes with McDonald making a good save to keep out Divin's lob and Aidan McVeigh having a 'goal' correctly ruled out for handball. Darren McCready, an early substitute for 'Stute, crashed a shot off the bar 12 minutes from time and Kevin Ramsay put a free header onto the roof of the net 60 seconds later. McVeigh then dragged a shot just wide with Connolly beaten before Black somehow managed to back heel the ball over the bar from 3 yards out after O'Connor nodded down Gawley's long throw.

Post-match reactions

Jim Brown: "It was the result that neither team wanted. Right to the death both teams were trying to win it, to get the three points. They had two very good chances towards the end but so did we: Blackie in particular had the one he flicked from about 3 yards out that took a bobble as he hit it and ended up over the bar.

"All in all, it was a hard fought game for both teams, both trying to win it but just couldn't break each other down.

"We're concerned about ourselves. We've six games left and we have more points than Institute and Larne so we need to be focussed on what we do. Our next game is against Glentoran at The Oval which is always very difficult. Paul Millar has come in and obviously given them a lift."

Liam Beckett: "We're not conceding goals and Ramsay's getting sharper as the games go past. We had a couple of great chances towards the end and I'd say Jimmy was probably pretty thankful to get a point and it keeps them that wee bit of a distance ahead of us.

"I'm quite happy to be honest, coming away from home and I'm just sorry that prior to my arrival at the Club that they didn't defend the way we have been defending now. I think the average was 3.6 goals conceded per game and so you needed to score four goals every Saturday to win a game. They've got it down now to around one goal a game on average - we've worked really hard to tighten it up at the back. As my old boss Peacock used to say 'If you're not going to win it, don't lose it'"

14th March 2006: MID-ULSTER SEMI

Glenavon 4-1 Laurelvale

Holders Glenavon made it safely through to the Final of the Rushmere Mid-Ulster Cup at Mourneview Park on Tuesday night with a comfortable 4-1 victory over Laurelvale.

Under-18 player Craig McMillen had an excellent First Team debut at left back

After taking an 8th minute lead through a Gerard McMahon goal from a perfectly weighted pass into the box by Aaron Black, Glenavon were pegged back by an equaliser from Gareth Thornberry in the 17th minute. After this Glenavon wasted a number of opportunities with Kieran O'Connor heading McMahon's corner onto the bar and Davy McAlinden guilty of missing with a couple of fairly straightforward headers. For the Intermediate League side, Jamie Uprichard went close with an overhead kick at the near post after Grant flicked on a long throw five minutes from the interval but that was the last real chance that Laurelvale created.

Glenavon dominated the second half with McMahon doubling his tally and Kieran O'Connor also weighing in with a couple. McMahon restored Glenavon's lead in the 57th minute when he broke the offside trap thanks to a superb pass from Paul McKnight and raced in on goal, beating the keeper with a low drive just inside his far post. Five minutes later O'Connor grabbed the first of his goals when he nodded in the rebound after his own header had been parried by Cully in the Laurelvale goal. The Glenavon midfielder completed the scoring 15 minutes from time when he slid into the six yard box to poke home substitute Dan McAlea's low cross.

4th March 2006: IRISH CUP DEFEAT

Linfield 3-0 Glenavon

Glenn Ferguson's 39th goal of the season gave Linfield a first half lead when he headed in Pat McShane's cross at the back post. Gault should have scored in the 15th minute when his point blank header came back off McDonald's chest and Kingsberry had three shots in quick succession when he hit the bar after the first shot was saved by McDonald and the second rebound deflected off Black and was cleared off the line by McMahon.

Glenavon started the second half well with Verner being denied by Mannus and also just failing to get a touch to Reid's deep cross as it flashed diagonally across the goal mouth.

Murphy then crashed a header off the bar for Linfield and Thompson missed a couple of decent chances. Telford broke a couple of tackles in the 70th minute but his weak left foot shot lacked conviction and never looked like troubling Mannus. Six minutes later a long throw on the Linfield right somehow made it to Ferguson and his lay off was smashed in off a Glenavon defender by O'Kane, standing unmarked on the18 yard line. Five minutes from time late substitute Avun Jephcott scored his second goal in a Linfield shirt when he stabbed the ball through a ruck of players at the back post after Ferguson headed a corner back across the goal area.

Apologies for the lack of post-match comments this week. This is due to a technical hitch with the recording equipment.

Report

11th March 2006: REDS WIN

Cliftonville 2-1 Glenavon

Cliftonville dominated the early periods in the game and deservedly led through a George McMullan goal in the 6th minute. He dived to head in Conor Downey's cross from the edge of the six yard box despite McDonald getting a hand to his powerful header.

Glenavon's performance seemed to pick up after Marty Verner forced a great one-handed save from Paul Straney in the 32nd minute. This heralded a period of sustained Glenavon pressure which eventually culminated in a 38th minute equaliser. Gerard McMahon's corner was headed back across goal by Davy McAlinden and Verner leaped to nod the ball down and over the line.

In the 58th minute Glenavon had a strong penalty shout waved away by Mr Courtney when Paul McKnight was brought down by a clumsy challenge inside the Red's box, but the only outcome was a goal kick.

Straney, who was clearly struggling from the start, had to be replaced just after the hour mark by the tiny reserve keeper, Ben Moane, but Glenavon singularly  failed to test him in any way in the remaining 30 minutes.

Once again, slack marking led to Glenavon conceding a goal from a set play when Nathan McConnell rose unopposed at the far post to head McMullan's corner past McDonald in the 65th minute.

Post-Match Reactions

Jim Brown: "It's hard to take any positives from that because we lost the game though I thought we did fairly well half way through the first half. We got ourselves sorted out after Cliftonville scored and were the better side on the way in to half time. In the second half it was very much a case of the two teams cancelling each other out but we went to sleep again and gave away a silly goal at a set piece. This has been the problem for quite a while - we lose concentration at set pieces against us. I'm exasperated because it's happening continually, this lack of concentration at certain stages in each game, and its making it a tougher battle for us on the run in.

"The penalty incident was an absolute disgrace, a total disgrace by the referee. It was an absolute 'dead' penalty kick and again this guy's performance was totally inadequate. He's refereed us now about 5 or 6 times and its been the same on every occasion. I'm not making that as an excuse - it was a penalty kick. If that was not a penalty kick I've got a problem with my eyesight and he's closer to it than I am. McKnight feels disgusted, they all are. The players feel cheated because if its a penalty kick its a penalty kick. There's no point in me going in there to ask him as he'll just say the fella dived. He didn't dive he was fouled.

"If I don't do a good job, if I'm not working with these players, if I'm not trying to improve them as individuals and as a team and results suffer, I'm accountable, I have to answer to people. These referees don't and that needs looked at - there's something wrong. That's not just a 'gurn' after losing 2-1 - it was a certain penalty kick and I for the life of me can't see why the referee, who's maybe 15-20 metres away, doesn't give it when he sees it.

"The reason why Verner was taken off was because he was injured. He couldn't continue and he knew it himself. He said to me at half time "I'm not going to make the 90 minutes." I wanted to keep the lad on for as long as possible, because he's a natural goal scorer. If he gets something then, fine, but it didn't work that way."

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