GLENAVON V STRABANE ATHLETIC, A LOOK AHEAD

On Saturday 15th August 2026 Glenavon faces Strabane Athletic at Mourneview Park in its third BOYLE Sports Championship fixture.

The County Tyrone club is in its first Championship campaign. It has made a positive start. Although it lost 1-0 against Institute last Friday night, it played with ten men for 40 minutes after the dismissal of Callum Doherty. Athletic bounced back with an impressive 3-1 victory at Moyola Park. Sam McClintock scored twice in the first half and Sean McCallion added a third in the second period.

Last season Strabane lost 5-2 against Cliftonville at Solitude in the Clearer Water Irish Cup but led 2-0 after early goals by Gary Merritt and Oisin Duffy.

Michael O’Connor is expecting a difficult 90 minutes. “It will be hard, as the first two games have been,” he said. “We are still finding our feet in this league and finding out what teams are about. Strabane had a great win on Tuesday night and will be full of confidence.”

Two fixtures into the new season, the Belfast man has already learned a lot about his own side. “I watched last Saturday’s match against Ards back and thought that we created enough chances to win two games,” he continued. “Obviously we did not defend our box well enough and conceded three goals. But we had good opportunities ourselves and didn’t take them. Tuesday night at Newry was a big improvement. This time we converted more of the positive situations we created and defended better. Paddy Burns’ header came at a crucial time. We had been on top for five or ten minutes and turned that possession into a goal. We were in total control after we scored the third.”

O’Connor reckons that his players will need to get used to the ultra-defensive approach adopted by Ards last Saturday and to a lesser extent by Newry on Tuesday night. “Ards sat in against us and tried to make it as difficult as possible for our attacking players,” he said. “Newry were similar. We decided to go with two wingers for the midweek game as we thought that Peter [Campbell] and Jude Johnson would stretch them. We played a narrower formation in the first match and still created enough chances to win but just didn’t take them.”

Michael does not believe that away fixtures will be any easier than home matches, even if opponents adopt a more positive approach. “I don’t think that is necessarily so,” he said. “We’ll need to be adaptable and mix it up against different teams depending on how they set up. We’ll have a game plan for every game and do our best to implement it.”

The former Northern Ireland international was pleased with his players’ application in the 4-1 success at the Showgrounds. “You know what to expect when you go to there and face a Stuart King side,” he continued. “They get in your face; they want a battle and are prepared to fight for first and second balls. Nonetheless, I thought that we matched and bettered them. That was part of my team talk. I told the lads that they would have to roll their sleeves up and do the ugly side well before we could produce the quality to win the match. They all went out and did that. It was a big reason why we left with three points.”

Michael reckoned that Glenavon’s most dominant spell of attacking play on Tuesday night was its impressive opening burst. “During that period – the first twenty or twenty-five minutes – we created loads of chances,” he added. “Peter [Campbell] had a goal chalked off for offside which looked really close. Their keeper made some excellent saves. We got in behind them on three or four occasions. We looked dangerous every time we got forward.”

Nevertheless, despite not offering much as an attacking force, Newry equalised before the break. “I was disappointed with the goal we conceded,” the Glenavon boss continued. “It came from one long ball. They got in behind us. Then they had a spell when they hit the post and offered more of a threat. There will be times in games when we are pushed back. We have to be able to deal with it. I thought that we handled it well, got back into the dressing-room and then were really good in the second half.”

O’Connor felt that Paddy Burns’ and Harry Murphy’s improved display after the break was crucial. “I had a bit of a go at the defenders during half time,” he said. “I wasn’t happy that we allowed them to get behind us for the goal and on a few other occasions. Their reaction – particularly Paddy’s and Harry’s – was superb. They were in complete control and that gave us the platform for the attacking players to go and do their thing.”

Michael does not accept that playing in a team which is expected to win most of its games means that defenders have a different mindset. “No, that is not the message I give the lads,” he said. “A defender’s job is first and foremost to win duels and keep clean sheets. Attacking play comes after that. Against Ards we knew that we would have more of the ball at the back. However, at Newy we went with a flatter 4-4-2 formation and the plan was to get it to the front men as quickly as possible.”

The Belfast man praised Glenavon’s midfield duo – Niall Quinn and Luke McGerrigan – for their contribution to Tuesday night’s success. “I thought that they were both superb,” he said. “Quinnie was brilliant. He used all his experience and leadership qualities. Luke had been ill all morning and it was touch and go whether he would start the match. He was, in the end, probably only 60% fit but it didn’t show by his performance. We knew that the two lads would be overloaded but you would not have noticed. That is credit to them.”

On Tuesday Ryan Waide scored a hat-trick and Peter Campbell picked up two assists. The manager was delighted with their contributions. “I thought that all four of our front men were excellent,” said Michael. “But obviously, the two lads got more of the plaudits. We signed Rooster because we thought that he would score goals in this league. He has carried his pre-season form into the competitive games. Knowing him he is probably a bit disappointed that he has only scored four times in the first two matches. But his hat-trick was excellent. His sharp finish for the first one was brilliant and taking on the goalkeeper one-to-one he was always favourite to score the second. The third was top drawer but not a surprise because he has that in his locker. Peter [Campbell] made a big contribution, particularly during the first half when we got a lot of joy down the left. We played him on the wing at Newry, but he can also play in the centre of the pitch in a diamond formation. He is a very important member of the squad.”

O’Connor is confident that his players will not take Strabane Athletic for granted. “The boys are professional enough to know that no matter who you play in this league, it is going to be a battle,” he added. “Strabane will contest every ball and make if difficult for us. We were pleased with the lads’ reaction on Tuesday night. But that’s done now. We need to keep our feet on the ground, move on to the next one, and try to do the same job again.”

Michael reported that Stephen Mallon and John Mountney are the only two casualties ahead of Strabane’s visit. “Stephen will probably be back a bit quicker than John, but we are working hard to have them both available again as soon as possible,” he said.

Saturday’s match sponsors are Paul, Alan and Stephanie Humphries, Jayden Smyth and a supporter who wishes to remain anonymous.

The match ball sponsor is Jonathan Burns.

The Zio Restaurant “Player of the Match” sponsor is Ian Malcomson.

There will be a charity collection by members of the William Walker Glenavon Supporters’ Club. Please give generously.

Also, a huge thank you to:

Park Avenue Takeaway for the boardroom hospitality,

Skinny’s Pizza Mourne Rood for the players post match food