Sports Direct Irish Premiership: Glentoran v Coleraine (Saturday, 3pm)
Glentoran boss Warren Feeney will be hoping that his side can take advantage of Coleraine’s “losing streak” when the two teams meet at the Oval on Saturday afternoon in the Sports Direct Irish Premiership.
Fifth-placed Glentoran are only one position ahead of this afternoon’s opposition in the standings, however, they have the luxury of a nine-point lead with a game in hand.
Having won five of their last nine games, Feeney’s side are enjoying a min-revival after a disappointing autumn that saw them lose significant ground on the league leaders Linfield and their closest challenger Larne and Cliftonville.
Last time out they defeated Annagh United in the Irish Cup.
However, their performance on the day was not one to win the hearts of doubting fans, requiring a smart finish from striker Junior in the 90th minute to save their blushes.
Coleraine cannot seem to buy a win at the moment and are on a horrible run of form.
The Bannsiders have lost their last five games, including last weekend’s cup exit by way of a 3-0 drubbing at the hands of a Ronan Hale inspired Cliftonville.
Following last week’s defeat, Oran Kearney’s side lodged an appeal against the inaccurate team sheet submitted by the Reds, however this was kicked out by the IFA earlier in the week and the result stands.
With only a solitary win in their last 10 games, it is no surprise that the Coleraine board had to make a statement in support of Kearney as he faces a significant level of pressure, the likes of which he has never experienced at his beloved club.
The north-coast outfit will be hoping for some better news this weekend, in the hope that new signing Jamie McGonigle will be available to play after an error in the FIFA registration system meant the ex-Derry City man missed out in last week’s game.
For Glentoran, they have been particularly quiet in the transfer market thus far, with sources suggesting that they too were interested in bringing in McGonigle before he signed for today’s opponents.
Feeney suggests whilst his team are keen to do business, market pressures make it tough.
“We definitely want to do some business, but only if they are the right fit,” he said.
“We’re seeing a real market inflation at the moment and we are not going to pay silly money to bring in someone.
“We are very fortunate we have a few players coming back from injury, who are like new signings.
“Seanan (Clucas) came back on Saturday for his first game in a year after a bad injury, and we are really looking forward to him making a real difference in our side.”
Having played each other twice this season it is Kearney’s side who hold the upper hand.
They picked up an impressive 2-1 win at the Oval early in the season and then drew 0-0 with the Glens at the Showgrounds in November.
Despite being on a poor run of form at present, Feeney knows not to make little of the visiting Bannsiders.
“I wouldn’t read too much into their current form to be honest,” The ex-Northern Ireland International said.
“They still have some great players at the club who can hurt you on their day.
“We saw that the last time they came here (the Oval) what they can do, so we will certainly not be taking anything for granted on Saturday afternoon.”
