MAY 2007
ALAN FRASER IS BACK
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| Alan Fraser pictured during his last
spell at Mourneview |
Former Glenavon Manager Alan Fraser
is back at Mourneview Park. Colin Malone
has enlisted his former mentor to join the management team and bring his
experience and coaching skills in what he sees as an important move to improve
the fortunes of the side next season. "This is the third time I will have worked
with Alan," Malone told glenavonfc.com, "the first I was under him and then he
was my assistant in my last spell at Mourneview Park.
He's very keen to get to work with the squad and
is really up for the task."
Fraser was until recently assistant to George Dunlop at Bangor and almost helped
to see the Seasiders promoted via the play-off - at the expense of Glenavon!
APRIL PLAYER OF MONTH
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| As well as making a
'clean sweep' of all the Glenavon Player of the Year
Awards, Gavin was presented with his 'Player of the Month'
for April from sponsor Allen Gamble of Allen Gamble
Windows. |
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| Raymond Acheson of
Euro Construction Corporation presents a Match Sponsorship
cheque to Glenavon Chairman Sam Gardiner |
Conor Walsh presents
Reece Millar with a signed match ball to thank him for
being a club mascot and to help celebrate his seventh
birthday. Looking on is club chairman Sam Gardiner. |
HARD ACT TO FOLLOW
Noel Uprichard, Treasurer of the Triangle Glenavon
Supporters' Club has just retired after holding the post for an
incredible 58 years! The little Dollingstown man was in his
position on Friday night for the last time, and gave a annual
financial report which many accountants would have been proud
of. Not a penny missing and every detail covered. As anyone who
knows Noel will agree, a truly amazing gentleman.
The club voted unanimously to make him a life member on
Friday night, a decision which made him emotional as he thanked
all the members for something that he said 'couldn't have been a
better gift'. Humble indeed.
All the best in your retirement Noel and we hope to see you
on a regular basis for many more years to come.
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| A hard act to
follow. Vice chairman Noel Davidson and Noel Uprichard are
pictured (front) after the Triangle Glenavon Supporters'
Club AGM. Also included are Noel Uprichard's (temporary)
replacements as treasurer, Bobby Baxter and Noel
Cunningham. |
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| Noel Uprichard, who
is retiring as treasurer of the Triangle Glenavon
Supporters' Club after an amazing 58 years. |
WILLIAM WALKER CLUB ANNUAL DINNER
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| Alan Fraser presents
Eleanor Cousins with her 'Club Person of the Year' award
at the William Walker Supporters' Club annual dinner. |
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| Glenavon chairman
Sam Gardiner receives a £3000 cheque from Irvine Gordon
and Davy Maguire, another installment from the Glenavon
Lottery Fund. |
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| Debbie Maguire,
Secretary, Gary Whiteside, Bar Steward, and Chris
Gilkinson, Chairman of William Walker Glenavon Supporters'
Club pictured with Alan Frazer, Guest Speaker, Sam
Gardiner, Glenavon Chairman, Colin Malone, manager, Norman
Livingstone, director, and Neil Carson, assistant manager. |
15th May: EXTRA HELPING OF RICE!
Glenavon v Bangor Play-Off Second Leg
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| Referee Colin Burns and Glenavon
hero Paul Rice exchange views during the penalty shoot-out. |
Glenavon 0-1 Bangor (a.e.t.) (Agg. 1-1)
Glenavon won 4-2 on penalties.
Paul Rice was the hero as he saved two penalties and scored the winning
spot kick himself with the game finishing 0-1 to Bangor after extra time and 1-1
on aggregate.
Bangor took the lead, and cancelled out Glenavon's away goal, in the 56th
minute. Seconds earlier the Glenavon defence had just managed to scramble the
ball off the line, taking three attempts to get it clear for a corner. They
weren't so fortunate from that corner as Rice's punched clearance was turned
back into the box by Munn and Irvine stabbed the ball in from 8 yards.
In the 75th minute Neal Gawley had a great chance to square up the match and put
Glenavon ahead on aggregate when the ball broke for him just inside the Bangor
box after good work by Paul Walsh on the left. Unfortunately Gawley's shot just
missed the far post by inches with the excellent Brown for once beaten.
Eight minutes from the end of normal time Andy Morrow was played in by a superb
cross-field pass by his strike partner Paul McDowell but the Bangor striker's
shot rebounded off Rice's right hand post and away to safety. Five minutes later
Glenavon substitute Marty Haveron, stretching, could only get a toe end to his
fellow substitute McConnell's cross and the ball ran through to Brown. In
stoppage time the tiny striker returned the complement with an excellent cross
from the right that seemed to come off McConnell's knee as it flew out for a
goal kick.
In the second minute of extra time Haveron almost pulled Glenavon level on the
night with a powerful shot from inside the box that Brown saved brilliantly at
the expense of a corner from which he made another save to tip McConnell's
looping header over the bar. Two minutes later saw the dismissal of Glenavon
midfielder Adrian Harper for what appeared to be a retaliation to a bad tackle
on him by Dominic Melly.
In the second period of extra time McConnell wasted a great chance to settle the
tie when he somehow headed wide from two yards after Barry Meehan had reached
the bye line and put over a measured cross to the back post where Haveron
chipped it back onto his strike partner's head.
With the very last kick of the match John Baillie found himself alone at the
back post as a corner somehow found its way through to him but unbelievably his
shot from no more than a yard out hit the outside of the post and away for a
goal kick.
The match then went to penalties with the teams shooting into the goals at the
Crescent End, Glenavon being first up.
Both teams scored their first two penalties and Paul Walsh calmly slotted
Glenavon's third into the bottom right corner. Rice saved Bangor's third
penalty, taken by the goal scorer Irvine but Brown kept out Magennis' effort
from the fourth spot kick. Rice then made a tremendous save diving to his right
to turn Allen's penalty onto the post and the keeper assured his status as
Glenavon hero by scoring the fifth and clinching kick himself with a well taken
penalty low to Brown's right.
| 1 |
Hunter |
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McDowell |
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| 2 |
Meehan |
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Munn |
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| 3 |
P Walsh |
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Irvine |
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| 4 |
Magennis |
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Allen |
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| 5 |
Rice |
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Colin Malone was naturally a mightily relieved man after the match "It’s been
a horrendous experience, the play-off, but from this we will be a better team
for it. It's been a bad experience and one the players will not want to go
through again and we will be determined next year to build on the players we
have here and add a few more. We want to build and make sure we are away from
the bottom end of the table.
"Glenavon had so much to lose - if you looked around the ground here and saw
the support we had, the pressure was immense and you could feel it coming from
the stands. The tenseness, the whole thing transferred itself onto the pitch but
credit to the players, they never quit and ran themselves into the ground. The
legs had gone at the end but they held their nerve in the penalty kicks and
that’s part of the game and it’s something in the last couple of training nights
that we did work on. We've got our reward and we’re just delighted to still be
in the Premier League."
"Paul Rice had been practicing penalties too and, with McMahon not being on
the pitch, Paul stepped up and took his penalty very well.
"We are a bit fortunate: penalties are a lottery and it’s hard on Bangor but
we’ve had little or no luck this season so maybe we were due some.
"It went from end to end and even at the end of extra time they hit the post.
There were chances for both sides and even when we went down to ten men I
thought we were still positive and created chances."
11th May: PLAY-OFF FIRST LEG
Bangor 0-1 Glenavon
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| Conor Walsh tries an acrobatic
effort at Clandeboye Park |
Nerves were clearly to the fore in this Promotion-Relegation First leg match at
Clandeboye Park. Neither side offered much in the way of decent football in the
first half with a 35th minute long range free kick by Bangor's Stephen Munn
being the first effort of any note in a rain-lashed, freezing cold Clandeboye.
The free kick flashed harmlessly wide of Rice's post but seconds later at the
other end a fumble on the edge of his area by Bangor keeper Ryan Brown offered a
chance to Paul Walsh but his chip caught Gerard McMahon offside.
Glenavon started the second half in a much more lively fashion and Paul Walsh's
free kick in the third minute of the half saw his namesake Conor, back from a
four match suspension, strike a shot from the edge of the area that took a
deflection just wide of Brown's left hand post. From the resulting corner
Stephen Magennis popped up at the back post to head in his fifth goal of the
season.
Bangor pressed hard in the final minutes of the game and carved out two
excellent chances. Five minutes from the end of normal time David Irvine was set
up by a layoff in the box by Bangor's leading striker Andy Morrow as he received
a knock down with his back to goal from Hylands' free kick but the midfielder's
shot from 8 yards hit the side netting. In stoppage time Morrow's excellent
first touch allowed him to control another Hylands' free kick into his feet,
turn and shoot, only to see his effort flash across the goal and wide of the far
post.
Glenavon team: Rice, McKerr, Meehan, Wallace, McDonnell, C Walsh,
McMahon, Harper, Magennis, Haveron, P Walsh. Subs McConnell (McMahon 81), Black
(P Walsh 86), Hunter (not used).
Bangor team: Brown, Collier, Hylands, Allen, Baillie, Melly, Irvine,
Morrow, McDowell, Forsythe. Subs Gribben (McDowell 68), Guy (Forsythe 84), Kerr
(Melly 72).
7th May: PLAY-OFF FIASCO
Glenavon Chairman Sam Gardiner called an emergency Board meeting on Monday
morning and, as a result Glenavon, has submitted an appeal against the decision
to hold the first leg of the play-off match on Tuesday evening. "We are not
happy at the short notice and the fact that we did not receive notification of
the game in writing from the IFA" said Mr Gardiner. "I offered to deliver the
letter myself but the IFA's Director of Competition Services, Craig Stanfield,
informed me that a hand delivered application would not be acceptable and
insisted that the letter must be sent by Recorded Delivery. The fact that this
has all happened over a Bank Holiday weekend has hampered the whole appeals
procedure for Glenavon."
Colin Malone has a hastily arranged training session tonight (Monday)
following the successful appeal on Friday night by Larne against the deduction
of points for fielding an ineligible player. "Glenavon's complaint regarding the
Larne player was upheld by the Premier League then we heard late on Friday night
that Larne's appeal had been successful. It has meant that our preparation for
these vital games has been far from ideal" Colin told glenavonfc.com
today.
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| Glenavon Manager Colin Malone and
Chairman Sam Gardiner MLA at the Glenavon Triangle Supporters' end of
season Dinner |
There is some good news in that most of the squad will be at the training
session tonight "Apart from Davy Hawthorne and Davy Bracken, who are both
injured, and Adrian Harper who may be missing due to a family illness, I am
hopeful that I will have a full squad available."
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