CLIFTONVILLE V GLENAVON, A LOOK AHEAD

On Saturday 13^th December 2025 Glenavon faces Cliftonville at Solitude in its next Sports Direct Premiership fixture.

The North Belfast men are in excellent form. They have won four and drawn two of their last six league fixtures and have also qualified for the County Antrim Shield Final. “They are in good shape at the moment,” said Blues’ boss Michael O’Connor. “The introduction of Keevan Hawthorne and Joe Sheridan, two teenagers, has given them a lot of energy. They haven’t changed shape or tactics really but those two young players playing with no fear has improved them.”

O’Connor is preparing for what will be a challenging assignment. “Solitude is a difficult place to go to regardless of how Cliftonville is playing,” he conceded. “But it becomes tougher when they have had a run of good results and are full of confidence. But we went to Inver Park last month when Larne were in equally good form and we gave a good account of ourselves, so we are optimistic.”

The Belfast man aims to make his side as defensively solid as possible. “We need to be well organised and disciplined at the back,” he said, “That is the first priority. But in possession we hope to be able to get forward quickly and cause them problems. It will be a similar approach to the Larne game.”

Unfortunately, Glenavon will be without talismanic winger Peter Campbel. The Richhill man came off injured midway through the first half of last Saturday’s clash with Bangor. “Peter has another hamstring problem, but it is not the same one as last time,” Michael explained. “We arranged a scan at the beginning of the week. The results were not as bad as they might have been, but it is still a little worse than a grade one, so he is likely to be unavailable for three or four weeks. It is a blow for us and also for him. He had played so well against Ballymena. He was understandably a bit down on Thursday night. He is desperate to play and to help the club as much as he can. I spoke to him and tried to encourage him. Scott Hughes, our physio, will work closely with him. Whilst we won’t take any chances, hopefully we can get him back sooner rather than later.”

Peter left the field against the Seasiders with Glenavon one goal in front. Unfortunately, the team conceded twice in the last fifteen minutes of the first half and was unable to equalise. “I thought that we played exceptionally well in the opening fifteen or twenty minutes, deserved to take the lead and could have had a second,” O’Connor reflected. “But losing Peter forced us to completely change our attacking formation. I like to play with two out and out wingers but with Josh Kee coming on we had to dispense with that and play more narrowly. Whilst we were making the adjustment they came back into the game and scored two goals.”

Michael was disappointed with referee Shane Andrews’ decision to award a penalty following Mark Byrne’s challenge on Michael Morgan and his failure to point to the spot when Jordan McMullan was fouled by Stephen McGuinness during the second half. “I have watched both penalty incidents back,” he said. “On the first one, I don’t think there is any doubt that Mark punched the ball clear before he made contact with the Bangor player. As well as that I don’t think the referee had a clear view of what happened. On the second call, I thought at the time that it was a penalty. Since then, I have seen a still image as well as the video. Neither has led me to change my mind.”

O’Connor felt that Glenavon dominated the second half. “We were in complete control,” he added. “They brought everyone back and sat in. We played some good football but weren’t able to open them up. We worked the ball into good areas but perhaps our decision making, at times, wasn’t great. But it was very difficult. We had a centre midfielder playing on the right, two defenders playing in midfield and Paul McGovern, who is best on the left, in the centre forward position. We have lost some good attacking players and have so many injuries that we are being forced to put square pegs into round holes.”

On a positive note, Luke McGerrigan, who was introduced late in the second half against Bangor, continues to make good progress. There is similar news about Ben Wilson. Both, if they are not involved against Cliftonville, may have some minutes in Glenavon Reserves’ next Development League fixture. Stephen Mallon has trained this week. If he is not ready to play some part this weekend, he may be available to face Linfield. Luke Cartwright is also taking positive strides towards a return before Christmas. Jacob Carney has had a minor setback in his efforts to recover from a hand injury but still hopes to resume his playing career early in the New Year. Sean Carlin and Kris Lowe are both out on a longer term basis.

In August 2025 Glenavon lost 3-1 to Cliftonville at Solitude.

Other Glenavon teams in action:

(Free Admission to all games)

• Monday 15^th December 2025 – Glenavon Reserves v Coleraine Reserves, Mourneview Park, 1945 k.o.
• Friday 12^th December 2025 – Glenavon U-18s v Cliftonville U-18s, St. Patrick’s 3G, Banbridge, 2030 k.o.
• Saturday 13^th December 2025 – Warrenpoint Town U-16s v Glenavon U-16s, St. Patrick’s 3G, Banbridge, 1115 k.o.