LOUGHGALL V GLENAVON, A LOOK AHEAD 6n5l2n
On Saturday 13th April 2024 Glenavon makes the short journey to Lakeview Park for its next Sports Direct Premiership fixture. Loughgall has had an excellent first season in the top-flight. Twin strikers Benji Magee and Nathaniel Ferris have been prolific scorers. Defensively it boasts the t best record in the Bottom Six. Last time out, Ballymena United was the surprise 3-2 winner at the compact County Armagh venue. Nonetheless, Dean Smith’s team remains in seventh place and is firmly in contention for the “best of the rest” title. 4e1j7
Defender Calum Birney and striker Aaron Prendergast, who were both forced to leave the field against Newry City with knocks, will not play again this season. The former has a knee complaint whilst the latter has an ankle problem. “We are still assessing the full extent of the players’ injuries,” said manager Stephen McDonnell. “A.P. may have a hairline fracture. Our focus is on getting the two lads ready for pre-season.”
The only other player unavailable for the trip to Lakeview Park is Peter Campbell. He will complete the three-match ban he received for his sending-off against Larne.
When the clubs met at Mourneview Park in March, Loughgall won 2-1. On that occasion Stephen McDonnell felt that his side struggled badly. “I have no issues with the result,” he conceded. “They were better than us all over the pitch. We didn’t impose ourselves, we defended badly, and we created very little.”
McDonnell reckons that the Glenavon starting eleven and substitutes will need to be at their best if they are to build on last weekend’s 3-2 success against Newry City. “The league table does not lie,” he added. “Loughgall is a good side. They can both score goals and keep clean sheets. They have experienced players. Plus, they are fit and well set up. Dean Smith has done a great job. We will need to be on it right from the kick off.”
On a positive note, the Dundalk man was encouraged by the manner of last Saturday’s win. “We played well in large parts of the match, showed a lot of character to keep responding each time Newry equalised and scored some excellent goals. Perhaps we could have defended better and created more openings in the second half than we did. But, overall, it was a reasonable performance.”
| Glenavon v Loughgall, Last Season | |
| Date | Result |
| 04/10/22 | Glenavon 1 Loughgall 2 League Cup |
| 11/10/22 | Glenavon 4 Loughgall 5 a.e.t., Mid-Ulster Cup |
On Friday 12th August 2024 Glenavon U-18s face Dungannon Swifts’ U-18s in the final of the U-18 Mid-Ulster Cup at Annagh United’s 3G pitch. The game starts at 7-45 pm. Glenavon is the defending champion.
Other Glenavon teams in action this weekend:
(Free ission to all games)
Monday 15th April 2024 – Glenavon Reserves v Ballymena United Reserves, Mourneview Park, 1945 k.o.
Saturday 16th April 2024 – Glenavon U-16s v Glentoran U-16s, Gordon Playing Fields, 1100 k.o.
Saturday 16th April 2024 – Glenavon U-15s v Crusaders U-15s, Lurgan Junior High School 3G, 0930 k.o.
