Preview: Glenavon v Warrenpoint Town

Let's see a big crowd at Mourneview Park tomorrow afternoon as the lads take on @thepointfc… pic.twitter.com/Sq6SBrBOz0

— Glenavon FC (@Glenavon_FC) August 16, 2019

Turn your speakers on!

With Glenavon having picked up just one point from the first two league fixtures, tomorrow’s game at Mourneview Park with Warrenpoint Town is one that is already taking on a ‘must win’ feeling. The visitors themselves will be desperate to take something from the game, having lost heavily in their opening two games: 6-0 at Larne on the opening weekend a 4-0 at Crusaders on Tuesday night.

Sammy Clingan and Rhys Marshall will come back into the reckoning after they missed Tuesday night’s defeat at Solitude. Marshall was suspended after his sending off in the opening game with Glentoran and Gary Hamilton avoids playing Clingan on plastic pitches.

Seamus Sharkey is a out after suffering concussion from a blow to the head in the game with Cliftonville but Caolan Marron made his first start of the season on Tuesday night when he played at right back in Marshall’s place so he’ll likely slot back in to his preferred central defensive role alongside Andrew Doyle.

“We were all obviously disappointed with Tuesday night,” Gary admitted. “The players knew themselves that it was nowhere near good enough and not acceptable. First half we were far from happy and we didn’t think anybody performed in the first half to their capabilities.

“We played a 4-3-3 against a team playing 4-3-3 like Glentoran did on Friday night and we played with ten men for 60-odd minutes and dealt with it no problem. That was the disappointing thing for ourselves (on Tuesday); we looked all over the place in the first half. The pleasing thing for me was that they showed a bit of character in the second half. We said to them ‘the first half is gone. You’ve given yourselves mountain to climb so the only thing we can do is go out and play for a bit of pride and try and win the second half’ and they did that. To be fair to them they created a few more chances and I thought we got a bit more fight and a bit more hunger but the damage was done after three minutes and then conceding another two within the first 30 minutes.”

Gary also confirmed that Robbie Norton came through the surgery to repair his ACL earlier this week and I’m sure we all send Robbie our best wishes for a speedy recovery.