GLENAVON V LINFIELD, A LOOK AHEAD

On Saturday 14^th February 2025 Glenavon faces Linfield at Mourneview Park in its next Sports Direct Premiership fixture.

Linfield is currently fourth in the Premiership table with 14 wins and seven draws from 26 fixtures. It has won four and drawn two of its last six league fixtures. However, last week it suffered a shock 1-0 defeat against Limavady United in the Clearer Water Irish Cup sixth round. The South Belfast club has qualified for the BetMcLean Cup Final. Next month it will play Glentoran. On Tuesday night it defeated Dungannon Swifts 6-0 at the National Stadium. Matthew Fitzpatrick scored a hat-truck.

Glenavon boss Michael O’Connor anticipates a difficult 90 minutes. “Facing Linfield at any time of the season is difficult,” he said. “They suffered a bad defeat against Limavady last Friday night but bounced back well against Dungannon. They are a good side. We will have to be at the top of our game to get a result.”

This season the Belfast Blues have struggled away from home. Four of their five league defeats have been sustained “on the road.” Whilst that statistic gives O’Connor grounds to be optimistic, he is not placing too much store on it. “Obviously we have had a really good home record since October and Linfield has been poor away from Windsor Park,” he said. “But that does not guarantee us anything. They will have taken a lot of positives from their 6-0 win in midweek. They will probably be expecting to pick up points. Again, we will need to be at our best to get anything.”

Michael reckons that former Glenavon favourite Matt Fitzpatrick – now nearing the end of his third season in South Belfast – is the top striker in the Premiership. “Fitzy is, I think, the best,” he continued. “He has demonstrated that many times. But they have other good players. They have added two new faces in the last few weeks. When they click – the way they obviously did against Dungannon – they are really strong and difficult to play against.”

O’Connor hopes that his team can match it impressive display in the 2-1 success against David Healy’s men just before Christmas. “We were really good all over the pitch that afternoon,” he reflected. “Defensively we were solid and offensively we created a lot of chances. We also won the battle in midfield. That was the most pleasing performance since I arrived at the club. We aim to produce the same again on Saturday.”

The Belfast man was very dissatisfied with his players’ performance in Tuesday night’s 2-1 defeat against Carrick Rangers. “That was our biggest game of the season so far,” he said. “It was a great opportunity to narrow the gap at the bottom of the table, but we didn’t show up. We didn’t earn the right to play. We weren’t prepared to do the ugly side.”

Michael was particularly frustrated by the team’s first half display. “We didn’t compete. We were second to every ball. We didn’t create any chances. We played into their hands. After 20-25 minutes we took Gavin [Gilmore] off and put Charlie Lindsay into midfield to give us an extra man. That helped us a bit, but we still struggled.”

He was disappointed at the manner in which the goals were conceded. “We talked about both Heatley and McCullough at training on Monday night,” he said. “I warned the players that Heatley likes to make runs in behind without the ball and that Luke is a big threat from set pieces.”

O’Connor felt, ironically, that the team competed better after Niall Quinn’s unfortunate 56th minute dismissal. “We rolled up our sleeves and looked a bit more threatening,” he added. “Peter Campbell’s goal gave us a boost. But, over the whole 90 minutes, we didn’t deserve anything. It wasn’t good enough. I told the players that.”

On a more positive note, the fact that the team has generally competed well in recent months gives some grounds for optimism. “We have been very good in a lot of matches, including games which we have lost,” said the Belfast man. “I am thinking of the Portadown fixture on Boxing Day, the match at home to Dungannon, the game against Glentoran in January. Those times we could easily have picked up points. Hopefully, we can get back to that sort of form.”

Michael reports that everyone who played against Carrick came through unscathed. That includes Kris Lowe who made his return as a second half substitute. However, Stephen Mallon, Oran O’Kane and Ben Wilson remain on the injured list. “Oran has seen a specialist and had another scan,” he explained. “The good news is that he can start to do some running next week. If that goes well, he can begin to step things up. Hopefully, we will have him back sometime in March.”

Ben Wilson’s injury is also likely to take another three or four weeks to heal. This will probably rule him out of the Northern Ireland U-19 team’s upcoming fixtures against Ukraine, Romania and Kazakhstan. “I feel for Ben because he was out for so long during the autumn,” the boss added. “He is a very talented young player with a great future. But he has a good head on his shoulders and will bounce back stronger.”

This Saturday Niall Quinn must serve a one-match suspension.

In September 2025 Glenavon lost 2-0 to Linfield at the National Stadium.

The match sponsor for Saturday’s fixture is Banbridge-based Chartered Certified Accountant and Registered Auditor S.M. Vint & Company. The matchball sponsor is the Spirit of 2014 Glenavon Supporters’ Club. The McCracken’s Brewery “Player of the Match” sponsor is Mark Baxter. Glenavon is indebted to all its financial backers.

The Triangle Glenavon Supporters’ Club will hold a bucket collection in aid of Craigavon Cardiac Care Association. Please give generously.

Other Glenavon teams in action:

(Free Admission to all games)

• Monday 16^th February 2026 – Bangor Reserves v Glenavon Reserves, Clandeboye Park, 2000 k.o.
• Friday 13^th February 2026 – Glenavon U-18s v Loughgall U-18s, St. Patrick’s High School, Banbridge, 4G, 2015 k.o.
• Saturday 14^th February 2026 – Carrick Rangers U-16s v Glenavon U-16s, Taylor’s Avenue, 1100 k.o.