GLENTORAN and Linfield will meet twice in the space of 13 days after the 'Big Two' were paired together in the fifth round of the Tennent’s Irish Cup.
The old Belfast rivals were paired together in the pick of the 16 ties and will face off at the Oval on January 7, just shy of a fortnight after their St Stephen’s Day meeting in the Premiership.
Made in the Pat Jennings Suite at Windsor Park, the idea of a potential full house for the final next May was mentioned prior to the draw, but Glens boss Gary Haveron felt that its best chance was a Glentoran-Linfield final.
“It’s cup football. You just have to hope for a home draw and whoever comes out, comes out. If you want to win it you have to beat the best teams in the draw.
“I think the two clubs probably would’ve loved to avoid each other, certainly if you want to fill this place you probably need the two of them to fill it.
“It’s going to be a massive game. Home tie, Linfield are going really well but we’ll worry about that when the time comes. We’ll focus on Ballymena this Saturday first,” he said.
One of the other three all-Premiership ties sees Cliftonville travel to David Jeffrey’s in-form Ballymena United. The Reds had a 2-0 win over the Braids men in the Premiership two weeks ago amid an upturn in fortunes, and Cliftonville boss Gerard Lyttle reiterated his disappointment as some of the early-season criticism that came their way.
“I don’t understand the criticism, to be honest. It was a wee bit frustrating to take and listen to it, but that’s football. I’m big and ugly enough to take it.
“We’ve had a good run of late because of the attitude of the boys and their workrate and professionalism. They’ll continue to do that and hopefully that keeps us going in the right direction long-term.
“You have to remember too that we’ve turned over a lot of players from last year. I counted last week and we’ve let go about 10 players since I came in, and we’ve brought in five, so it’s always going to take a wee while for that transition to happen.
“We’re still in a transition period. We’ll continue to do what we’re doing and hopefully it’s the right thing that we’re doing, and we get the right results,” said Lyttle, who said that he is looking at options to replace midfielder Ruairi Harkin, who has been ruled out for a year with a knee injury.
Coleraine, who dropped to fifth in the table after the 1-0 defeat to Cliftonville last weekend, will host Carrick Rangers while the other all-Premiership tie sees champions Crusaders travel to Ards.
Cup holders Glenavon will begin their defence against a Portstewart side that was relegated from Championship 2 last year, but has started the season well in the NI Intermediate League.
The Lurgan Blues also won the cup in 2014 but Gary Hamilton pointed to the example of their League Cup defeat by Annagh United last year as an example of what can happen in a knockout game.
“We’ve had Annagh beat us over the last couple of years, we’ve had a difficult game from Loughgall at home last year, so you need to have the right attitude or these teams can spring a surprise.
“If we turn up and perform and our attitudes are right, it’s a decent draw for us.”
Fivemiletown and Trojans both feature in the fifth round for the first time ever, with their respective rewards a trip to Loughgall and Armagh City.
Richhill and Dollingstown were both hoping for a plum draw but they were paired with each other, while Tobermore United will travel to Annagh United and Crewe United will visit Knockbreda.
The junior clubs that were drawn at home will all have their ties reversed. All games will be played on Saturday, January 7.
Tennent’s Irish Cup fifth round draw: Larne v Portadown, Coleraine v Carrick Rangers, Ballymena United v Cliftonville, H&W Welders v Lurgan Celtic, Dungannon Swifts v Dergview, Loughgall v Fivemiletown United, Ballyclare Comrades v Institute, Glenavon v Portstewart, Trojans v Armagh City, Glentoran v Linfield, Warrenpoint Town v Ballinamallard United, Lisburn Distillery v PSNI, Richhill v Dollingstown, Ards v Crusaders, Annagh United v Tobermore United, Knockbreda v Crewe United
