Glenavon face Carrick Rangers for the second time in less than a week on Saturday.
In a spot of fixture scheduling which has left Gary Hamilton feeling perplexed, the Lurgan Blues go into the game off the back of a 1-1 draw against the exact same opposition at Mourneview Park on Tuesday night.
The manager will be hoping that his side take their chances this time around and is expecting another tough game at Taylor’s Avenue.
“I’ve seen their last three games against us, against Crusaders and against Linfield,” Gary told Glenavon Media following the fixture in Lurgan.
“They’ve got a formation that they play, they’re a big, strong physical side. They’re good at set pieces and they can hit you on the counter attack.
“It’s going to be a tough game, especially down there – we never get an easy game at Taylor’s Avenue. I think the last time we were there we lost by six. It’s a tough place to go and get results.
“Niall [Currie] has them organised and a draw against Linfield and a win against Crusaders is two big, massive results. They probably fancied their chances against us.
“We played well against them, but probably over the 90 minutes we probably should have come away with three points.”
Glenavon will have to do it without Sean Ward, who is suspended following his red card in Tuesday night’s game. Robbie Garrett, on the other hand, returns from suspension.
MATCH OFFICIALS
REFEREE: Tony Clarke,
ASSISTANT REFEREES: Kristian Hanna, Mark O’Brien
FOURTH OFFICIAL: Ben McMaster
LAST TIME OUT: Glenavon and Carrick Rangers shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw at Mourneview Park on Tuesday evening.
The Lurgan Blues deservedly took the lead on 17 minutes when Michael O’Connor’s free-kick from the left evaded everyone and found its way into the back of the net.
Glenavon held on to their lead until the break, but the game was thrown wide open just five minutes into the second half when Sean Ward was sent off for handling the ball on his own goal line. Carrick’s Caolan Loughran emphatically converted the resulting penalty to draw the away side level.
