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OCTOBER 2006

28th October: BLUES ON THE UP

It was mission accomplished for Colin Malone as his side earned another three points, making it seven from nine in the last three games. Malone had targeted these games as vital in the overall context of the League campaign and this win takes Glenavon up to 11th place in the Carnegie Premier League table, equal on points with Ballymena Utd and Newry City.

Gerard McMahon scored the opener against Loughgall

Malone was forced to make a last-minute change to the line-up when Paul McKnight aggravated a stomach muscle tear during the warm-up. He drafted in young Andy Uprichard to replace McKnight on the bench, with both McConnell and McVeigh earning a starting place after both strikers scored in last week's win over Donegal Celtic.

The major talking point in a dour first half was the performance of referee Stephen Weatherall which, together with Loughgall's apparent lack of attacking ambition, contributed to a very stop-start affair with little in the way of entertainment. Aidan McVeigh was clearly tripped by Darragh Peden in the 23rd minute but Mr Weatherall ignored the home side's penalty appeals. Paul Walsh thumped a left foot drive off the bar after weaving his way to the edge of the visitor's box and Nathan McConnell hit a right foot volley straight at Addis.

Skipper Gerard McMahon spurned two good second half chances when he headed wide at the back post from Paul Walsh's corner and he fired a shot over from inside the box when the young left winger's cutback was only partly cleared. McMahon made amends within 60 seconds when he chested down a sliced clearance off McVeigh's cross and slotted a low left foot shot inside Addis' right hand post.

New Glenavon Chairman, Sam Gardiner enjoyed his second successive victory since taking over from Roy Ferguson

Loughgall sub Paul Barron struck a good shot seconds after coming on which Rice pushed over the bar in what was a rare attempt from the visitors before Conor Walsh sealed the win with a fine goal that was a just reward for Glenavon's most consistent player this season. McMahon won the ball and it broke to Walsh who ran across the 'D' before firing a low left foot shot just inside the post.

In the final ten minutes Paul Walsh went close with a rising drive and Davy Hawthorne stretched to get a toe to Gawley's pass but couldn't quite direct his effort on target.

Colin Malone was glad to get the three points but not particularly impressed with the performance "I've told the boys to keep their feet on the ground. It wasn't that great a performance really but it was a very welcome result and one that was fully deserved. It was a comfortable 2-0 win at the end of it but in the weeks to come we'll have tougher games than that but we've shown that we have the players capable of grinding out that score line.

"It was our first clean sheet of the season and I'd like to pay tribute to the back line; I didn't think Paul Rice had anything really to do all day.

"Conor (Walsh) was very close to not playing today. He has an abscess on his jaw and he's been sick and in a lot of pain. I thought at one stage when he was sick on the pitch he would have to come off but fair play to him he stayed on and carried out his duties right to the end. It was another inspirational performance. He's been a revelation and very very consistent and I thought today again he was well assisted by Davy Hawthorne who had another good game.

"We didn't get the ball to the wingers as much today as we did in the last few weeks. That was disappointing as we really didn't get our wing play going."

26th October: INJURIES AND SUSPENSIONS

Brian Mallon is likely to miss the rest of the season after damaging his cruciate ligaments last weekend. Best wishes to Brian for a speedy recovery. Marty Hunter and Conor McAnallen should be back in training next week.

Conor Walsh and Gavin McDonnell have both picked up a one match suspension, starting from next Monday, 30th October. They will miss the League game away to Coleraine on Saturday 4th November.

21st October: NATHAN DOUBLES UP

Nathan McConnell's two strikes helped earn Glenavon a well deserved first League win at Suffolk Road on a remarkably sunny October afternoon. The Lurgan Blues had to come from behind, though, after a poor decision by Paul Rice to come off his line for a through ball which Sean Armstrong got to first. His effort from a tight angle on the right side of the box bounced back off the inside of the far post and left Daniel Lyons with a simple tap to an empty net in for the opening goal.

DC spurned a number of other first half chances but Paul Walsh and Aaron Black forced Spackman into action and Aidan McVeigh totally missed his kick when he was played through by Hawthorne's pass. The on-loan striker made amends in a Glenavon-dominated second half when he curled a left foot shot inside the far post from the edge of the box after Paul Walsh's left to right diagonal pass had picked him out.

Colin Malone then introduced McConnell in place of Paul McKnight and within twelve minutes he turned McMahon's low cross past Spackman to give Glenavon the lead. Minutes earlier DC's Noel Cardwell had been stretchered off after suffering a fractured tibia as he fell awkwardly following a tackle by Brian Mallon on the edge of the visitor's box.

Best wishes to Noel for a speedy recovery.

Two minutes after going behind DC equalised when Sean Armstrong curled a right foot shot past Rice after an uncharacteristic error from skipper McMahon gave the ball away to Cardwell's replacement, Noel Corrigan.

The winner came two minutes from the end of normal time when McConnell rose at the far post to loop a header from Gavin McDonnell's cross over the head of Spackman.

Speaking after the match, a clearly delighted Colin Malone had special praise for the Glenavon supporters "I've been critical of the supporters in the past couple of weeks, particularly in the Distillery game, but today I have to give them credit. They backed the team from start to finish and, particularly Davy Hawthorne responded to a positive sound out of the terraces today and I thought he was excellent. Hopefully that will be the start of Davy showing what he can do and people will have a wee bit of faith in him as they did today. The supporters were the extra man today: they got us the result; they kept pushing us on.

"It was so important for us to get something from the matches last week and today and we've done that. It sets us up well for next week's game. We know we have suspensions coming in which will obviously change personnel and things that will be forced upon us but this win will give us a huge lift. I'm delighted for the players; they've put a lot of effort in today. We've got 100% plus out of each player and I'm delighted that I got that and delighted for the players that they got their reward as well.

"The standard of refereeing today left a lot to be desired. Even though we won I still feel it was a very poor display: some of the decisions were absolutely brutal. Sometimes you do a lot of moaning and groaning if the result goes against us but today, even with the result going our way, I felt it was a very poor showing and it probably should show on his marks."

19th October: NEW CHAIRMAN ELECTED

The Glenavon Board met tonight (Thursday) and elected Alderman Samuel Gardiner MLA as the new Chairman of Glenavon Football Club. Jim Carpenter was re-elected as Vice-Chairman and Treasurer.

18th October: CHAPLAIN CALLS FOR CONFIDENCE BOOST

"There is nothing more powerful in the entire world than words of encouragement at the right time in someone’s life."

Glenavon Chaplain Rev William Orr sees a need for encouragement

Glenavon's chaplain, Reverend William Orr, has issued a plea for Glenavon fans to encourage the team following what he describes as "active personal hostility" towards certain players.

"As all of us who love Glenavon Football Club know only too well, results have not been going our way recently, and it’s amazing what a good performance and a win can do not only to a team’s confidence, but individual player’s confidence as well. As I have stood on the terraces of Mourneview this year, and more recently the away game to Lisburn Distillery, it was clear to see not only the lack of encouragement, but sometimes active personal hostility, did nothing only reinforce a lack of confidence." More

14th October: A FIRST POINT

Glenavon 1-1 Larne (Carnegie PL Match 4)

Glenavon came from behind to earn the first point of the Carnegie Premier League campaign with this 1-1 draw at Mourneview Park.

After dominating the early exchanges with Marty Hunter flashing a near post header just wide, Glenavon were rocked by a ninth minute goal from Colm Kearney. The big striker smashed a shot past Rice from 16 yards after Bertie Fulton's miscued effort found him unmarked. Larne then went on to create the best chances of the first half but were unable to extend the lead.

Aaron Black congratulates Paul McKnight on scoring the equaliser

Paul McKnight equalised five minutes into the second half with a superb lob over the advancing keeper after a through ball over the top caught the Larne defence square. It was then Glenavon's turn to dominate but again they could not turn this into a goal.

Both sides had chances to grab all three points in injury time with first Nathan McConnell putting a header onto the roof of the net after Aaron Black had headed McMahon's corner back across goal then, from the resulting goal kick, Lewis Hamlin received the ball, turned inside onto his left foot and sent a low shot only inches wide with Rice looking well beaten.

Post-Match Reactions

Glenavon's Assistant Manager Neil Carson "thought we were the better side but at the same time they could have stolen it with the last kick of the ball while I thought Nathan had stolen it for us ten seconds before that.

"It was a very encouraging display as we finished the game with nine men. Wee Walshie was cramping and Conor (McAnallen) pulled a hamstring. I thought Aaron Black responded with a five star performance today; he was absolutely superb; the best player on the pitch."

Larne Manager Jim Hagan thought a draw was a fair result "We were happy enough with our first half performance but in the second half they were clearly the better side. We've been in the lead in 8 or 9 games and only held onto win three of those.

"We gave away a sloppy pass in our own half and they punished us. Confidence is maybe a bit fragile and we went through a rocky period for a good 20 minutes but then we pulled ourselves round again once we got settled. You don't always get that time to settle but we were lucky possibly with the help of the linesman - he was one of our better players in the second half!"

7th October: DEFENSIVE SHAMBLES

Lisburn Distillery 4-0 Glenavon

Paul McKnight was Glenavon's best player

A poor first half defensive performance left Glenavon with a two-goal deficit after just 20 minutes at New Grosvenor. Darren Armour was the beneficiary with goals in the 7th and 24th minutes to which he later added a penalty to complete his hat trick following a diabolical decision by the referee when he penalised Conor Walsh for a tackle in which he clearly won the ball.

Up front Glenavon was causing the White's defence problems, with Phil Matthews pulling off good saves to deny a shot from Nathan McConnell and turning Walsh's firm header round the post from the resulting corner. Armour's first goal came courtesy of Andy Waterworth's good work when he ran onto Ryan McCann's diagonal pass and held off Aaron Black before cutting the ball back to leave Armour with a simple tap in from a couple of yards out. Waterworth himself was guilty of the miss of the season from even closer in when Armour provided the cross which his strike partner managed to put over from less than a yard.

Nathan McConnell challenges for the ball

Armour doubled the lead four minutes later when he raced onto McKeown's pass, with the Glenavon defence stepping up in a forlorn attempt to catch him offside, and slipped the ball past the exposed Rice. The White's striker went close to completing his hat trick with a near post header after 37 minutes.

Glenavon's assistant manager, Neil Carson, in charge for the day with manager Colin Malone serving the first of a two game suspension, replaced Aaron Black with Paul Walsh five minutes before the break, moving Marty Hunter in to the centre of midfield. This gave the visitors a more balanced looking setup and the young winger had an immediate impact when he was involved two minutes from the interval in a move that saw Ross Black's back post cross headed over by Gerard McMahon.

Glenavon looked more organised in the second half and Paul McKnight forced a great save from Matthews in the 54th minute after Paul Walsh's diagonal pass was taken on the chest by Marty Hunter on the edge of the White's area and he slipped the former Rangers player in with a neat pass. On the hour mark Waterworth was booked for diving as he attempted to con the ref into believing that Rice had brought him down. Unfortunately Mr Moran was not so perceptive three minutes later when Hagan went down with Conor Walsh clearly playing the ball out for a corner. Walsh and McMahon both picked up cautions for protesting the penalty award, with Armour scoring from the spot to complete his hat trick.

Gavin McDonnell was then sent off for an off-the-ball incident involving him and White's skipper Wayne Buchanan and from the resulting second penalty Conor Hagan racked up his 5th goal of the season, slotting home the rebound after Rice had saved his initial spot kick.

In the final fifteen minutes McKnight crashed a free kick off the post and had Matthews scrambling to push a long range shot round his post, with the keeper also denying McMahon from the resulting corner.

Post-Match with Neil Carson

"Our more experienced players, more than anyone, were at fault for the first two goals which more or less sealed our fate", said Neil Carson, speaking after the match. "We tried to lift the boys for the second half as the next goal would obviously decide it - if we could have got it back to 2-1 it would have given us a chance. I thought the referee 'bought' the penalty; even Paul Kirk has admitted that on the way off but that's football.

"It was another very disappointing result. It's hard to take positives out but I thought there were positives. At times Glenavon played good football, at times we looked really poor and that sums the game up really.

"We had to change it, putting Conor Walsh into the defence. Without being too critical of Aaron, he had one of those days so we got wee Walshie on. He's still a young lad and we are trying to feed him in and I know a lot of people are looking for him to start but we have to nurse him through. I thought he did very well when he came on, getting past men and he gave us a better balance.

"I think we are carrying too many passengers at the minute with boys not living up to our expectations. At the end of the day you are only as good as the last result and in the papers it'll say Glenavon lost 4-0 but I didn't feel there were four goals between us."