GLENAVON TO PLAY LINFIELD IN MARK HAUGHEY’S TESTIMONIAL MATCH t4o14

Glenavon will play Linfield at Mourneview Park next summer in Mark Haughey’s testimonial match. It will be the climax of the veteran central defender’s testimonial season. 3m4rq

“I am very grateful to David Healy and Linfield for agreeing to the fixture,” said the 33-year-old. “It will be fitting because I have spent my entire career at Windsor Park and Mourneview.”

Mark has been busy planning a series of fundraising events. The next will be a Night at the Races in the Bedeck Suite, Mourneview Park, at 6-30 pm on Saturday 25^th January 2025. It is the day of Glenavon’s Sports Direct Premiership clash with Carrick Rangers.

Eight of the nine races have been sponsored. Mark is hoping to attract one more race sponsor. He is also eager to obtain for the horses which will run on the evening. Horses can be sponsored for £10 each. Anyone able to provide should speak to Mark himself or Paul McCrum. The event is open to all ers.

Later in the season Mark hopes to hold a Golf Day. Details will be announced in due course.

“I am very grateful to Glenavon for granting me the Testimonial and for all the which I have received from directors, ers’ clubs, ers and others,” he said. “The club has been very good to me since I returned in 2021.”

Haughey started his career as a 14-year-old in the Glenavon Academy, made his senior debut against Linfield at the age of 16 during the 2007-08 campaign and ed the Belfast Blues in 2013. He won the League Championship four times and the Irish Cup twice at Windsor Park.

His return to Mourneview Park has been blighted, to some extent, by the serious injury to his right knee which he suffered against Larne in December 2022. On 23^rd January 2023 he had surgery to repair the anterior cruciate ligament. “That was my birthday,” he recalls. “It is not a pleasant way to spend a day like that. Beginning rehab was a big challenge because I was in my 30s by that stage. It is harder to recover the older you get. But I have had great from our medical staff and both Gary Hamilton and Stephen McDonnell when they were here.”

Mark feels that the knee has fully healed. “I had a number of setbacks during the second half of last season when I was trying to get back into the team,” he continued. “But I have had very few problems since last summer. I picked up a totally unrelated groin injury in the autumn which kept me out for a period. Then, against Linfield last Saturday, I felt my hamstring tighten a bit and was advised to come off. Niggly injuries are a frustration but, unfortunately, are part of the game.”

Haughey hopes that he might still be involved in the Boxing Day clash with Portadown. “I have had hamstring injuries before and they have kept me out for a while,” he explained. “This feels nothing like as serious. But I will have it assessed and see what the prognosis is.”

The Newry man reckons that the extra night’s training introduced since Paddy McLaughlin’s appointment is having a positive effect. “It has certainly helped me,” he added. “I feel a bit sharper than I have done. I think the rest of the lads feel the same. But it will probably be a while before all the benefits kick in.”

Mark is enjoying his role as a mentor to the talented young players in the Glenavon squad. “We have some very good prospects,” he said. “Obviously, there has been a lot of focus on Chris Atherton and rightly so. But there is Paul McGovern, Harry Lynch, Len O’Sullivan, David Toure, Jamie Doran and others. I try to help them as much as I can. Watching them play makes you wish you could wind the clock back and be 18 again!”

Isaac Baird, another bright young talent, has elicited Mark’s advice as he continues his recovery from his own A.C.L. injury. “Isaac has spoken to me a number of times,” the 33-year-old continued. “He has been asking about how the knee should feel at various points during the rehab and the process of starting to play again. When I suffered my injury I spoke to Michael O’Connor, who subsequently left us to Newry City, and he kept me right. It is a very difficult injury to recover from. But, no matter how much advice you get, it is up to you to follow the programme you are given and spend the hours in the swimming pool and in the gym. Thankfully, Isaac is back to full training again. Hopefully, he will be available to play sometime in January.”

Mark now lives in Lisburn. He will celebrate Christmas with wife Melissa, stepson Jayden and son Raine. “We have some other family coming to our house,” he added. “Hopefully, it will be a good day. There will be a lot of chat and catching up. But it is really about the children and seeing the pleasure they get.”

The big question exercising the minds of Glenavon fans is, of course, can the club clamber out of the Premiership relegation zone? “There have been a lot more encouraging signs in the last month,” said Mark. “We played particularly well in the second half against Coleraine and throughout both the Crusaders and Linfield games. There is a lot of ability in our dressing-room. It is about getting the best out of everyone, avoiding too many injuries and getting a few breaks. If all of that happens, I think we will be okay.”