Danske Bank Premiership: Cliftonville v Ballymena United (today, Solitude, 3pm)
CLIFTONVILLE manager Barry Gray has said that nobody inside the camp is hitting the panic button just yet as the Reds attempt to get the show back on the road at home to Ballymena United today.
One win in their last six league games – including shock losses away to Newry City and Warrenpoint Town – has earned Gray and his players their fair share of criticism recently.
Earlier this week in the Irish News, Reds chairman Gerard Lawlor laughed off suggestions that Gray had lost the dressing room and the man himself said that while there was obvious disappointment at recent results, the determination to get back to winning ways remained strong.
“Any week you don’t win, when you don’t do as well as you think you could have, is a tough week,” said Gray.
“I think myself and all the players involved in the team would accept that. We’re not happy with results.
“At the same time we won’t be hitting the panic button.
“Tuesday night (5-0 win over Lisburn Distillery in the County Antrim Shield) was good because we knew it wasn’t going to be as taxing as the games we’ve played to date.
“It was a good opportunity to dust some of the cobwebs off, get a few goals and get a bit of confidence back and hopefully we can carry that into this game.”
A topsy-turvy start hasn’t been exclusive to Cliftonville with the likes of Crusaders, who have won just three of their opening six games and Coleraine, who have drawn three games already, also enduring different degrees of struggles.
While not excusing their own results, Gray said that it was an indication of just how difficult the league is proving to be this season.
“I think the only team that would be fairly happy with their start would be Linfield,” he said.
“Bar one week (v Ards), everything has pretty much went to plan for them.
“I look back at our games, the stand-out disappointments have been Newry and Warrenpoint.
“If we had won those we would have been up in second or third.
“We deserved to lose in the Newry game because we weren’t good enough but if you look at last week, against Warrenpoint, you could play another 1000 games and never have a finish like that.”
This will be Ballymena United’s first game since their 6-1 win over Warrenpoint Town on September 1.
That made it three wins and a draw for David Jeffrey’s side in their first five games, a run made all the more impressive when you consider that they are yet to play in front of their own fans due to pitch issues at the Showgrounds.
“This game won’t be like the mid-week match, it’ll be very difficult,” said Gray.
“We will look to do some of the things that we did well in the match though, we want to get back to doing that on a regular basis.
“Sometimes you say ‘get the performances and we’ll see about the results after that’. If I’m totally honest I’m saying the opposite to that, it’s about results at the minute.
“We have to get back to winning ways. That’s what is important for us at the moment, getting points on the board.”
Cliftonville v Ballymena United
(today, Solitude, 3pm)
BALLYMENA may be sitting fifth in the table and seven points off leaders Linfield but they do have two games in hand. Cliftonville have won their last two meetings against United on a 7-0 scoreline, one of those the Europa League play-off semi-final back in May. Ballymena were last in action on September 1 and could carry some rustiness into the game.
Odds: H: 3/4 D: 11/4 A: 11/4
Verdict: Draw
Coleraine v Linfield
(today, the Showgrounds, 3pm)
AFTER watching from the stands for their scoreless draw with Ards last week, new Coleraine manager Rodney McAree will be on the line today as they attempt to get within two points of league leaders Linfield. David Healy’s side have made a very impressive start to the season and have dropped just four points from a possible 21. This is a game between the league’s two remaining unbeaten sides and that may remain the case at full-time.
Odds: H: 29/20 D: 21/10 A: 13/8
Verdict: Draw
Dungannon Swifts v Ards
(today, Stangmore Park, 3pm)
DUNGANNON remain in limbo as they try and sort a replacement for departed manager Rodney McAree and it showed last week as they lost heavily to Linfield. They can respond here under caretaker boss Terry Fitzpatrick but it will be no easy task against an Ards side that hasn’t conceded a goal in their last three league games.
Odds: H: 20/21 D: 15/2 A: 23/10
Verdict: Dungannon Swifts
Glenavon v Crusaders
(today, Mourneview Park, 3pm)
CRSUADERS have endured a difficult start to the season as they try to retain the Gibson Cup and Mourneview Park is never an easy place to go to. Stephen Baxter’s side have won two of their last three league games, but both were unconvincing one-goal victories against Warrenpoint Town and Newry City respectively. Glenavon start the day second in the table and have won four of their last five league games.
Odds: H: 19/10 D: 12/5 A: 11/10
Verdict: Glenavon
Glentoran v Institute
(today, the Oval, 3pm)
GLENTORAN will attempt to extend their unbeaten league run to six games when they host Institute. Robbie McDaid (hamstring) is still a week away from returning while a calf issue will keep Sam Byrne out. It’s Institute’s first visit to the Oval since January 1, 2015 and they will try to bounce back from last weekend’s heavy 4-1 loss to Glenavon at the Brandywell.
Odds: H: 7/10 D: 5/2 A: 10/3
Verdict: Glentoran
