30th Nov 02, 12.50pm. Sorry folks, after a 12.30 pitch inspection, today's Cliftonville game has been called OFF
Coleraine v Portadown and Ards v Linfield and Glenavon v Crusaders have also fell foul of the wet weather.
Omagh Town just lost 2-0 at home to Newry!! - Spare a thought for the Original .... MOUTH HERE (speakers reqd ;-)
29th Nov 02. Cliftonville game - The 9th December 2000, 7 games and almost 2 years ago, surprisingly that's how far back you have to go to find a win for Cliftonville over the Glens. One - nil it was that day at Solitude in a League fixture, and they've only managed a single goal to our 10 in the six games since! Of course that all counts for nothing tomorrow though doesn't it. We've actually already beaten the Reds once this season, a Gary Smyth free-kick, if you remember, enough for the points at Solitude (HERE). Cliftonville sit some 20 points behind us in the League at present, but don't be fooled, lately they've hit a bit of a purple patch and are unbeaten in their last five, knocking in eleven goals on the way!
All eyes though will be on us again, everybody, and I mean EVERYBODY, is watching and just waiting for us to slip - and with good reason. This time last year we were a single point clear of Portadown and 7 in front of the scum, that gap is now 6 and 16, we mustn't let it close!
There are a few doubts surrounding one or two players tomorrow, I heard big Chris and Gary Smyth's names mentioned earlier in the week but I don't know how training went last night. Whoever plays though I've no doubt will not want to be the ones to end this tremendous run of ours ....... what is it now ...... 11, 12 wins on the trot? Here's to lucky 13 tomorrow ;-)
Match betting: Glentoran 2/5, Cliftonville 7/1 and a draw 11/4 All odds supplied by TOALS bookmakers
BTW - if you should get the opportunity, lets not forget to welcome Jimmy - 12 points - Boyce, the IFA President and also Cliftonville trustee to the Oval tomorrow (if he's got the swingers), and thank him for all his assistance during the Andy Kilmartin affair ............. NOT !!
Incidentally, Omagh Town can move second, 2 points ahead of Portadown and to within 4 points of ourselves tonight if they can beat Newry Town at Omagh ............ and they'll only have played 3 games more than us too!!
28th Nov 02. Don't forget - You can keep in touch with how Wisla Krakow are getting on at the last 32 stage of the UEFA Cup today at the 'LIVE' goals link - their game against German side Schalke kicks off at 4.30pm our time.
** Update: Krakow's game finished all square at 1-1 in Poland - not a great result.
Ticket news - Tickets are NOT required for next Tuesday's League Cup Final clash at whinger pk, it's pay-at-the-gate and word from the Oval is it'll cost £7 for Adults and £5 concession.
On next Saturday's League match at Portadown, tickets WILL be required. We got 1,400, priced £5 and £3 they could be on sale from tomorrow but will definitely be available on Saturday at the Oval and the usual outlets thereafter.
26th Nov 02, 10.50pm. Glentoran 5 Ballymena Utd 3
Where to begin! Well lets give everybody who played tonight a medal for a start, they certainly deserved it after serving up such a fine game in absolutely blizzard conditions! Match report to HERE folks.
Incidentally - Omagh beat the Crues 2-1 and the scum were held to a 2-2 draw at home to Cliftonville in the League tonight. That puts Festers Failures just the 16 points behind us and we have a game in hand ........ Fester must stay :-)
Ballymena United game - Deja vu, ever get the feeling you've already done this. If you read the pre-match report for this game last Wednesday then you're in luck, cos I can't remember it all and can't be arsed doin it over again. Suffice to say Ballymena are on a roll and to treat the First Division leaders lightly tonight would be very foolhardy indeed. We're only 90 minutes away from the first final of the season and a chance to avenge last years 3-1 League Cup final defeat against the scum. Kick-off tonight is 7.30pm, no mistakes please.
Match betting: Glentoran 2/5, Ballymena United 7/1 and a draw 11/4 All odds supplied by TOALS bookmakers
24th Nov 02. Newry Town 0 Glentoran 2
Match report can now be found HERE
23rd Nov 02, 11.00am. After a morning pitch inspection today's game at Newry is definitely ON
22nd Nov 02, 5.30pm. Just updated the Funzine - Page 2
Cliftonville v Coleraine has been called off - I hear there's a pitch inspection at Newry around 10.30 tomorrow morning.
BTW - The League Cup Semi-Final with Ballymena United is now confirmed for next Tuesday night (26th)
Newry Town game - After all this rain what hope Newry bein on tomorrow? Some hope and Bob Hope if you ask me!! That place isn't called the 'Marshes' for nothin you know! Whatever ..... gotta remain upbeat right :-)
Ok - believe it or not Newry Town haven't beaten the Glens in their last 10 attempts. Their last win if you remember was at the Oval on the 8th November 2000 in a Gold Cup semi-final first leg game, they beat us one-nil that night but we went to Newry a fortnight later to win 3-1 (3-2 agg) on our way to a thrilling 7 goal final with Coleraine and eventually winning the old Trophy in it's final year. In the two years since then Newry have had an awful time, the border club finished third from bottom last season and this time round are sitting last with just 6 points and one win from 15 games, they're already into their third manager of the season as well! On the up side they've actually held Glenavon and Portadown to a draw on their own ground as well as beating the Whites 1-0 so there'll be no room for complacency I can assure you. If the game does beat the rain and get the go-ahead one thing you can bet on is the pitch will be a helluva leveller, the Showgrounds are even bumpy in August! On the Glens front don't expect to see Andy Kilmartin, Elliott Morris I'm not so sure about, he at least will have been glad to see the midweek game called off and I'd expect the extra rest to see him back in goals.
I cant see Portadown slipping up at home, even though they face a resurgent Ards side, so really we would need to be heading back down the M1 with maximum points tomorrow to maintain that 4 point gap at the top. Here's hoping ..... Bob.
Match betting: Newry Town 7/1, Glentoran 2/5 and a draw 11/4. All odds supplied by TOALS bookmakers
21st Nov 02. I've just revamped the sites Weblinks Page - If you can think of any you'd like added just let me know.
20th Nov 02, 5.07pm. After a pitch inspection this evening at 5 o'clock tonight's game has been called OFF
The game may be re-scheduled for next Tuesday (instead of the Glenavon League game).but as of yet that's unconfirmed.
Glentoran Seconds game at the Oval this weekend has also been scrubbed to give the pitch time to recover.
11.15am. League Cup Semi-Final v Ballymena United - ON or OFF ? - After heavy overnight rain The Oval pitch this morning was unplayable. I've spoken to Sammy the groundsman though and he is quietly confident that the game will be on. The ground is being 'forked' as you read this and pools of water that were there this morning are disappearing fast. If it stays dry throughout the rest of the day as is forecast there shouldn't be a problem. Keep your eyes on the skies and check back later on for an update. If it DOES get called off I'll inform the site's mailing list ASAP.
2.30pm - Update: It's absolutely pissin down, there will now be a pitch inspection later this afternoon.
19th Nov 02, 10.00pm. The scum have just beaten Omagh 3-2, an incentive if ever tomorrow night to reach that final.
100,000 coming up :-) You may have noticed the site's hit counter recently - sometime this week we'll most likely break through the 100,000 hit barrier!! Unbelievable!! The site has been up and running for just over two years now but amazingly some 43,000 of those hits have come in the last 6 months! I don't know what to say ......... for once ;-)
I'm absolutely delighted and can't thank you all enough ...... you keep coming and I'll keep typing !! Le jeu avant tout.
By way of a celebration I've managed to talk the club into running a free Christmas Hamper draw, the only catch is you have to visit the Ballymac clubrooms and buy a pint to enter - sorry to our overseas visitors ....... best I could do I'm afraid.
18th Nov 02. Kilmartin out - Andy Kilmartin WONT play in Wednesday nights League Cup Semi-Final at the Oval. Things looked ominous on Saturday when Andy failed to come out for the second half of the Distillery game and it seems the midfielder aggrivated a recent groin injury. He could well be out for some time. It's also wait and see with Elliott Morris, the big goalie took a knock on the ankle midway through the second half on Saturday and is also struggling to make it.
17th Nov 02. Glentoran 2 Lisburn Distillery 0
The Lisburn Distillery match Report can now be found HERE
16th Nov 02, 11.30am. Barring a deluge of rain between now and kick-off todays game is definitely ON.
15th Nov 02, 11.45am. Champions League Draw HERE - UEFA Cup Draw HERE
Lisburn Distillery game - Is it still raining? I certainly hope not, the last thing we need right now is a break - keep em coming I say!! And with Portadown playing the scum, 3 points for us tomorrow could be a BIG' result!
Just like fellow promoted side Institute, the 'Whites' after a good start to the campaign have come a wee bit unstuck. They were doin great right up to the 28th September when they beat the Crues 2-1 to go fourth in the League, unfortunately that was 6 games ago and they haven't won a League game since. They have now dangerously slipped to three places from bottom,.a massive 20 points behind the Glens!. We haven't actually met in the League this season, we were supposed to play them at the end of August but with the Glens just returning from UEFA Cup duty in Poland the game was postponed. We did play them the following Tuesday though - a CIS League Cup group stage match at the Oval, the Glens running out 2-1 winners. Taking the Whites for granted though would be very foolish indeed, on their day they have proved they can beat anyone, they've already won this season at places like Coleraine and Glenavon and manager Paul Kirk will have them well wound up for their visit to the leaders at the Oval. As for the Glens - I hear Andy Kilmartin may still not be fit to play and Tim McCann as we all know had to have his arm stitched-up after last Tuesday's charade. I'm not sure of Paul Leeman's situation either, he didn't come out for the second half of that game after taking a few tackles and sub Marty Hunter picked up a knock for the Seconds this week. None of the above it must be said are definitely ruled out at this stage, it's all very much wait and see. On the plus side Andy Smith has served his two game ban and is available again ........ does he get his place back after the Locky and Armour show the other night? You tell me! And what about poor old Michael Halliday..... what has he done wrong!! .... Great stuff!
Fingers crossed this rain stops and the game goes ahead, they just can't come quick enough at the moment can they :-)
Match betting: Glentoran 3/10, Distillery 8/1 and a draw 7/2 All odds supplied by TOALS bookmakers
14th Nov 02. Don't forget the 'LIVE' link - Wisla Krakow (1-2) and FC Midtjylland (1-3) play tonight in the UEFA Cup.
Update - Wisla Krakow have beaten Italian giants Parma 4-1 tonight (5-3 agg) So much for a micky-mouse Polish side!!
Puts the Glens performance into perspective don't you think! FC Midtjylland on the other hand got duffed 3-0 (6-1 agg)
2.30pm. It's Ballymena United - The draw has just been made for the League Cup semi-finals - Glentoran have been drawn at home to Ballymena United next Wednesday night while Omagh Town and the scum must face each other on hopefully a cold wet miserable Tuesday night at St Julians Road !! What a bummer !!! ;-)
2.00pm. Just left the Oval 20 minutes ago - If this heavy rain continues into the weekend as predicted you can forget about Saturday's home game with Lisburn Distillery! There are pools of water all over the pitch.
13th Nov 02, 11.15pm. Glentoran Seconds 2 Coleraine Reserves 2 (4-2 Pens)
It's three George Wilson Cups in a row for the wee Glens, hats off especially to Neil Armstrong and Steven Maguire, the only ones in the team to now have a hat-trick of medals in the competition! In a game of few chances all the goals came in the second period. Coleraine went ahead just two minutes in when a 25 yard free kick deceived Neil Armstrong, it clipped the underside of the bar before bouncing on the goal line and agonisingly into the net. The goal seemed to waken the Glens a bit and Darren Fitzgerald turned the game on it's head in a six minute spell. On 66 minutes a mistake by the defender left Darren in the clear, he brought it under control, picked his spot then placed the ball past the keeper into the corner of the net. On 72 minutes he did the same again - almost a carbon copy of the first to go 2-1 ahead. Fitzgerald had a couple of opportunities before the end to put the game beyond reach and was made to rue those misses when Coleraine levelled the tie after a goalmouth scramble in injury time. Half an hours extra time failed to produce a winner and it went to penalties. Neil Armstrong saved two of the first four penalties he faced and scored one himself as the Glens knocked in all four of theirs to lift the Cup once again on an absolutely bloody awful night!
12th Nov 02, 11.00pm. Portadown 1 Glentoran 2
The Glens go marching on despite having lumps kicked outta them at Shamrock Park tonight and now join Ballymena United,Omagh Town and the scum in the semi's :-)
The Portadown match report can now be found HERE.
2.00pm. Portadown game - If we're to go one better than last season and win this League Cup it looks like we're gonna have to do it the hard way. It was gonna be hard enough to get a result at the home of the League Champions, now Andy Kilmartin's done his groin in and will miss tonights Quarter-Final at Shamrock Park, that's both Andy's out now with his namesake Smith suspended. Hopefully 'Gary' Smyth will be fit to return which should mean Leeper or Locky moving into midfield and Marty Hunter back on the bench. Another 'Biggest' game of the season - certainly for Shamrock Park anyway, the Glens have won their last 8 games on the trot - Portadown 7 and drawn 1 ... what a final it would have made. Memories will almost certainly be cast back to the 12th of March this year at the same venue, the Irish Cup Quarter-Final replay, a fantastic match - the Glens going out of the competition that night to the odd goal in seven! There'll be a few men on that pitch tonight eager to put that one to bed I can assure you .... no matter what they say. With a restricted crowd but all the Glenmen stuck together it might just help create a wee bit of noise, that'll do no harm at all. Portadown know this is their biggest test so far, hopefully the racket we'll be making will make it even bigger still. ....... Looking forward to it immensely ....... BRING IT ON :-)
BallymacGSC have a bus going to the game at 6.30pm, everyone's welcome - if you've got a match ticket that is ;-) You can find some of the other clubs running a bus at the link above - click to see if there's one leaving from near you.
Match betting: Portadown 8/5, Glentoran 8/5 and a draw 2/1 All odds supplied by TOALS bookmakers
11th Nov 02. The Funzine has now been extended to a second page. Some of the stuff about Fester and the IFL I've had on the home page lately has now been moved there. More jokes and cartoons will be added in due course :-)
Laverty gets put to the sword again - Regular contributor to the new Ballymac Bulletin-Board 'Fear-Us', who obviously has FAR too much time on his hands, once again proves the old adage that the pen truly is mightier than the sword and has sent me in his latest 'fan' mail !! Read it and whatever else I've pinned to the board at the 'READ MY MAIL' link above.
Anyone else any thoughts? Send them in, and - with your permission - the best ones will go on the Board ;-)
10th Nov 02. Crusaders 2 Glentoran 4
The Crusaders match report can now be found HERE
8th Nov 02, 3.00pm. Seconds out! Tomorrow's Reserve League tie between Glentoran II's and Linfield Swifts at the Oval has been called off due to the weather. That got me thinking so I got on the phone to Crusaders as to the state of their pitch. At the moment they say tomorrow's Premier League match is still on, there are no plans at present for a pitch inspection but tell me that could all change if the heavy rain continues. I've to ring in the morning - check back then.
4.00pm - Update: Cliftonville v Portadown has been postponed meaning if the Glens win tomorrow we go 4 points clear!
Crusaders game - All roads lead to Seaview tomorrow as the Glens seek to keep or even extend their lead at the top of the table. Second placed Portadown must travel to Solitude to face Cliftonville and although the Reds form has been a wee bit hit and miss so far this season we all know there'll be no love lost in that tie! We still have to beat Crusaders though. Can anyone remember the last time we lost to the Crues? I've searched back 2½ years - or 9 games and can't find a defeat, what I can tell you though is no matter how bad the Shore Road side are playing it's always damn bloody hard to get a result at Seaview........ it seems this year even for them!! In their 7 home games so far this term they have lost five and drawn the other two, in fact they've only scored a solitary goal in those games too ..... against the scum!
No disrespect to the Crues but I hope that run doesn't change tomorrow. Andy Smith should be the only absentee for the Glens, Timothy McCann picked up a knock at home to Glenavon last week but he should be able to play. Who'll take Andy's place up front then? My guess is it'll be Darren Armour, Darren played for the Seconds in midweek - as did Darren Fitzgerald it must be said, but Armour was the managers choice on the bench last week and that should just give him the nod. It's games like tomorrows you have to win, and everybody will be expecting us to do just that. Crusaders will do their damnedest to see that doesn't happen but there's no point us beating all the teams above us as we have done over the last month then throwing it all away against the bottom sides. If Gibbo's coming to East Belfast it's gotta be another 3 points from Seaview. Next week sees Portadown home to Linfield while we are at home to the Whites .......... is that a chink of daylight I see? ....... not yet ...... but a lot can happen in football in eight days ;-)
The Ballymac bus leaves at 2.15, why not come along - or click on the link above to see if one's leaving from near you :-)
Match betting: Crusaders 6/1, Glentoran 2/5 and a draw 3/1. All odds supplied by TOALS bookmakers
7th Nov 02. Andy's heartache! - I suspect Andy Smith would have been secretly delighted last week at the Portadown game being called off. The Glens striker would have missed the tie due to a mandatory one match ban after his sending off against Glenavon on Saturday but got a reprieve when it was postponed, meaning the ban carried over to the 'not so high profile' Crusaders game this Saturday instead. Problem is Andy probably wont have realised that the sending-off also took him over the IFA's 20 penalty points mark, meaning a further one game suspension is due - and guess when that is? ......... You got it - the ban comes into effect from Monday meaning Andy STILL misses the Portadown game!!!!
Tickets for Portadown League Cup tie - Ok folks, the tickets are arriving later today for the Glens / Ports League Cup quarter-final at Shamrock Park next Tuesday night (ko 7.45). I'm delighted to say they've upped our allocation to 1,300 in total, of which quite a few are concessions. Priced £4 and £3 they will go on sale tomorrow morning between 10.00am and 2.00pm at the Oval and all weekend from the Union Jack shop on the Newtownards Road. They will also be available at Seaview for Saturday's game with Crusaders
6th Nov 02, 9.50pm. Glentoran II's 2 Lisburn Distillery II's 1
The wee Glens are into the George Wilson Cup Final again this year ......... just!! In a very even game the Seconds went behind in the 25th minute, both sides then hit the woodwork twice and Glens manager Geordie Bowden was even ordered off !! It needed a penalty kick by captain Neil Armstrong to bring the Seconds back into the game after Marty Hunter had been upended 8 minutes from time. Darren Fitzgerald poked home from close range 4 minutes later to put a very relieved Glens side into the final against Coleraine Reserves at Seaview next Wednesday. I'd say Distillery will feel very unlucky tonight they didn't get a draw.
WELCOME TO THE HOUSE OF FUN ;-) Don't forget your speakers ..... HERE
.......While you're at it, why not have a go at our wee quiz HERE
More letters to the site today. I'll tell you what I'm going to do - some of them are actually pretty well written and it seems a shame to simply leave them in my mailbox. I've started a new page where I'll post some of them for everyone to read. I dont promise to post them all and it's not a forum, there's a messageboard on the site for that, just look on it as a chance to read some of my mail ;-) You can find the new page HERE
5th Nov 02. Glentoran Second's play at the Oval tomorrow night (7.30pm) in the semi-final of their George Wilson Cup. They take on Lisburn Distillery II's for the pleasure of defending the trophy against Coleraine Reserves in the final.
Replay Port's game?? ...... WHY NOT? A very interesting point has been made on the messageboard. The only League game the Glens have lost this season was a 1-nil defeat at home to Portadown back on the 21st Sept.
If you remember correctly that game was played amidst the confusion surroundng the Andy Kilmartin affair and far as I'm aware we were advised NOT to play the influential midfielder as a precaution. There's no doubt Andy WOULD have been playing that day had circumstances not been what they were. Would Andy have made a difference? I don't know you tell me, but given the fact the Glens had to make do WITHOUT one of their best players for what could ultimately prove to be a decisive game in the title race, and through NO fault of their own, surely they would be fully justified in asking the IFL to order the game be replayed!! ..... Was it THEM who advised us NOT to play him?? If so we must have a helluva case!!
4th Nov 02. Portadown Game - Tomorrow night's game at Portadown may have hit a snag, Health and Safety Officials are concerned at some of the building work going on at the ground. A new stand's being built behind the goal at the 'away' end of Shamrock Park meaning the Glentoran support will be restricted to just one quarter of the ground, they are worried there'll be too many of us travelling and they won't be able to cope. I've been promised news from the Oval as soon as we know one way or the other. If it's postponed I'll inform the site's mailing list. Otherwise keep looking in for an update.
12.05pm - Update: Tomorrow night's game has been called off, I hear it will 'probably' now be played next.Tuesday - 12th. Limited tickets for Glens fans will be issued to restrict the gate (possibly as little as 700) and I suppose it all depends how long it takes to get them printed and distributed. I have been asked by the Oval to stress that next Tuesday's date has YET to be confirmed, ignore reports from tonight's 'Tele' and the BBC, confirmation when it comes will appear here in due course. (What it does mean though is that Andy Smith's mandatory one match ban now comes into effect for the League game against the Crues on Saturday instead)
I see BallymacGSC.com made the Daily Mirror today!
I always said they were really nice people down at the Mirror ;-) Pity they got the web address wrong tho :-(
Awe well - beggars can't be choosers I suppose. Read what they had to say HERE
3rd Nov 02. Glentoran 2 Glenavon 0
The match report can now be found HERE
2nd Nov 02. League Cup quarter-final - Sorry folks.... everything seems to have went a wee bit nuts all of a sudden!!
I'll be making enquiries at the Oval later today as to the date of the Portadown League Cup quarter-final. If it's to be next Tuesday as rumoured I'll post it here on Sunday (sometime), apologies, if you don't mind I'll leave the Scoreboard and 'away bus' page as is until then.
BTW - Omagh beat Institute 3-2 last nite ..........that puts McCreadies puddin's just 4 points behind us having played three games MORE !! ... Between you and me like ........ at the end of the day .... WHO GIVE'S A SHIT :-)
1st Nov 02, 6.30pm. ***** BREAKING NEWS ***** ALL LEAGUE POINTS RESTORED AND LEAGUE CUP PLACE REINSTATED!! Told yez my wee bird heard something!! Glentoran have tonight sensationally been given back the 12 League points deducted from them over the Andy Kilmartin affair AND been given back their £7,000 fine AND been reinstated into the League Cup where they will now meet Portadown in the Quarter-Final !! A FIFA ruling has declared that the Glens have been guilty of absolutely NO wrong-doing and legislation has decreed that the IFL return ALL the points deducted from BOTH competitions!
It appears new FIFA regulations regarding a player's freedom of contract came into being some time ago, they state that a player can change status from professional to amateur 30 days after his last game as a professional, meaning the current Irish League regulations were out of date
I assume that by returning the 12 points to the Glens it means the four clubs who benefited will now have them removed. That being the case the REAL League table - which incidentally has never left this site - NOW STANDS !!
"GLENTORAN, GLENTORAN TOP O' THE LEAGUE, GLENTORAN, TOP O' THE LEAGUE" !!
HAPPY FRIGGIN DAYS :-) I'M AWAY TO GET PISSED !! LE JEU AVANT TOUT ........ & F THE REST :-)
