Glenavon boss Stephen McDonnell is hoping to capitalise on the “underdog” title this season as his team heads into a crunch tie with bottom-club Ballymena United this evening at the Showgrounds in the Sports Direct Premiership.
After three straight defeats to open the campaign, the Lurgan Blues got their first victory last Saturday, winning 2-0 away to Coleraine thanks to goals from Keith Ward and ex-Ballymena player David McDaid, and McDonnell is hopeful they can carry through some momentum into tonight’s fixture.
“We haven’t beaten a top-six side in 90 minutes of Irish League football until against Coleraine,” said the Dundalk native.
“Every game is huge for us. We have been tipped for relegation, so we have got that underdog title.
“We’ll have our boys ready and if they repeat the trick out of possession like against Coleraine and don’t give anything up soft or easy, we’re more than a match for anyone in this league.”
Jim Ervin’s United remain rooted to the bottom of the table despite bringing in a number of headline-grabbing signings over the summer, including Ben Kennedy from Crusaders and Stephen O’Donnell from Coleraine. With hopes high amongst fans at the start of the season, four straight defeats will have put some early pressure on Ervin, and he will be hoping for a change in fortune this evening.
“We need to get a major response come Friday evening,” he said following last week’s defeat at Dungannon Swifts.
“They’re all big games, no matter who you are playing. Whether it’s a team at the top of the table or a team at the bottom of the table, they’re all difficult games and they all have their own challenges.
“It’s up to me to get the boys in and regroup and make sure we are focused and ready to go on Friday night.”
Ervin can point to the fact that the first three games of the season were against sides finishing inside the top six last year, but after defeat by Dungannon, supporters will not accept a home defeat by another bottom-six side tonight.
United can bring confidence from the last two meetings between the sides, when they ran out 1-0 winners on both occasions, but it is their difficulty in finding the net that is all-too-often their downfall. They have failed to score in three of their opening four games so far, a statistic that is worrying to say the least.
A win for Glenavon tonight will give them confidence of really kicking-on in the table, whilst for Ervin it is a necessity if he is to retain the reins at Warden Street.
