Sights set on bragging rights, admits Mccloskey
GLENAVON star Conor Mccloskey is relishing a shot at revenge against his old club Portadown at Shamrock Park today.
And Mccloskey will approach the mid-ulster clash in confident mood after being named the NIFWA Danske Bank Premiership Player of the Month for February.
The 29-year-old has been in outstanding form, helping the Lurgan Blues to wins over Ballymena United, Carrick Rangers, Dungannon Swifts and Crusaders, registering four goals last month including a cracking lastgasp winner at Seaview.
In the opening match of the season, Portadown defeated Glenavon 4-2 and with two fixtures between the sides coming up in the next four days, Mccloskey is relishing the chance to turn that result around.
“I actually played in my first derby when I came home from England for Portadown. It was a Boxing Day game and I was massively surprised at the atmosphere,” said Mccloskey.
“There won’t be any fans at the match but I know how much it means to the fans of each club and the importance of winning for bragging rights. Having experienced it first-hand, it is a game neither club wants to lose and after they beat us earlier in the season we will be looking to put that right.”
In seventh position and with games in hand on most sides above them, Mccloskey spoke about Glenavon’s aims this season. He said: “We are targeting the top six and trying to compete for the European spots. That’s the goal we set ourselves every season. We are realistic in that we don’t have the same money as Glentoran, Linfield, Larne and Crusaders but if we get to the play-offs we are more than capable of beating anyone and we also fancy ourselves in the Irish Cup.
“We deserve to be higher but in February it felt like we got the results our form deserved.”
WARRENPOINT Town manager Barry Gray believes his club is moving in the right direction but insists no one will be resting on their laurels at Milltown.
At the start of the campaign, Town were favourites for the drop but, midway through, they are ninth and clear of the bottom three Carrick Rangers, Portadown and Dungannon Swifts.
One of the many consequences of Covid-19 in Irish League football is that there is no relegation but, had the trap door been open, Gray’s team would be in a healthy position approaching the second half of the season.
Today they are underdogs at title-chasing Crusaders but, having beaten Linfield and drawn with Larne and Glentoran this term and on the back of a 4-1 midweek win over Dungannon, Warrenpoint could make it difficult for Stephen Baxter’s side.
Gray said: “Bar the first few minutes against Dungannon, we were in control for most of the game. It wasn’t perfect but we scored four goals, missed a penalty and went close on other occasions so even I have to be happy with that.
“It was a big three points for us because we wanted to open up a gap on the three teams beneath us and we did that.
“We have 20 points at the moment and in a normal season we would be halfway through. That’s slightly over a point a game. If we maintained that over 38 games we would have 40 points and in the past that might have taken you into the top six or seventh.”
Gray has recruited a number of new players over the past year, making Town a much more competitive outfit.
He added: “What this season shows is that we are moving in a positive direction.
“There are three good teams underneath us and we have largely taken points from those teams and that is something we haven’t done consistently in seasons past. The next focus for us is to see if we can take points from teams in the mid-table section.
“We haven’t been great at that. Funny enough, we have won more points against the top sides. That’s something we will focus on but we need to keep increasing the gap on the sides below us before we even have the right to look at those above us.
“The Crusaders game will be a big test for us but we are looking forward to the challenge.”
OLE Gunnar Solskjaer had no hesitation in allowing Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea to return to Spain for the birth of his first child as Dean Henderson prepares to line up against rivals Manchester City.
The long-serving No.1 was conspicuous by his absence from Wednesday’s drab goalless league draw at Crystal Palace due to what were repeatedly described as “personal reasons”.
De Gea has since confirmed that his partner gave birth on Thursday, with the club giving their first-choice keeper permission to return to his homeland despite the potential coronavirus-related quarantine headaches.
Solskjaer expects him to be back soon but could not give a timeframe as Henderson prepares to line up in tomorrow’s tough trip to relentless runaway Premier League leaders City.
“It’s a fantastic day for David,” the United boss said. “Of course when you become a dad that’s probably the best possible feeling you can have.
“The ones who have been lucky enough to have that feeling know exactly what David is going through now.
“I’ll give him the time he needs before he comes back. He has to go home and in the old world that’s a day, you come back and you’re ready again.
“Now with the pandemic and quarantines of course it’s a
different world, but still we felt when David wanted to go and be there to support his girlfriend of course there’s not even a decision to make.
“Dean came in and played well and he’s ready, so I’ll give David the time he needs.”
Henderson would have likely started three of the next four matches given he is United’s cup goalkeeper anyway, with the Europa League last-16 fixtures against AC Milan and FA Cup quarter-final against
Leicester coming up.
The international break follows the March 21 trip to the King Power Stadium but Solskjaer expects De Gea “to be available very soon” as they “just have to follow the government rules”.
“We want our players back as soon as possible but there’s a human being in there that we had to look after and David was there for this fantastic day for him, his girlfriend and his family,” the Norwegian said.
“I don’t know when he’ll be back. It won’t be long before he comes. It was easy when I travelled back from the Euros. (My son) Noah was born on a Friday and I played against Spain on the Tuesday, travelling back on a Sunday. No quarantines.
“The world’s a different place but, still, this is the biggest occasion in any parents’ lives.
“But Dean did well against Palace and I’m sure he’s looking forward to this City game. He’s had that experience already in the Carabao Cup so that will stand him in good stead.”
United lost that semi-final clash 2-0 to their rivals in January but rallied to go top of the Premier League.
City usurped them on January 26 and have since built a 14-point cushion.
“Our focus is just on this one game and not where we’re going to end up. We just have to be the best possible Man United and try to improve on last season,” added Solskjaer.