The Oval
37 Parkgate Drive
Belfast
BT4 1EW
Ground Number: 1348
Tuesday 17th September 2024
Glentoran 2-0 Loughall
NIFL Premiership
NIFL Premiership
GLENTORAN FC - A BRIEF HISTORY
Glentoran Football Club is a professional football club based in East Belfast, that plays in the NIFL Premiership. The club was founded in 1882 and has since won more than 130 major honours, making them one of the most successful teams in the world. The vast majority of their honours have been on the domestic front, They've won the Northern Irish League title on 23 occasions, the second most successful side after Linfield who have on it 56 times. They've been unbroken members of the league since they joined from the Belfast & District League in 1901, a competition they've won twice and then again during the First World War when football was suspended due to hostilities. More often than not they have been amongst the top places and never in any real danger of losing their top flight status.
The club has also won the Irish Cup 23 times, the last victory coming in 2020 when they beat Ballymena United 2-1, the attendance restricted to just 500 due to the pandemic. Other domestic honours include 7 Irish League Cups, 26 County Antrim Shields and two Charity Shields. Glentorna have embarked upon a number of short -lived European adventures. Notable results include holding Benfica to two draws in 1967 and beating Arsenal 1-0 at home in 1969. Overall, they have won just 11 out of their 104 games in Europe. One of the more unusual players to turn out for the side was the spiritual medium Derek Acorah who played for them in the late 60s. Other famous names to have played for Glentoran include Billy Bingham, Danny Blanchflower and Leon Knight who also had a short spell with Wycombe Wanderers.
MY VISIT
Back when I booked my twelve days off work, I assumed that my midweek would be based in England with a Wednesday afternoon game, probably in the North. However, there was a complete death of three suitable games in a particular area. It was whilst searching in the North West that the Northern Ireland fixtures came up. This would be a new country for me and even better, I'd be visiting one od my bucket list grounds in Glentoran. A ticket was nice and easy to book online for the reasonable sum of £15. I decided to fly out from Stansted and back into Liverpool so as to get a Wednesday night game. I had been trying to visit both versions of Ireland for ages. However, the Republic's insistence of sticking every single game on Friday night made things impossible with work and would pretty much be a wasted weekend for a single game. There was the possibility of crossing into Northern Ireland but again, it would be for a single game and not enough bang for my buck for my liking.
Thankfully, my journey home from Stockton went without a hitch and I was back home at midnight. It was nice to spend Monday at home and walk down town. The afternoon saw me looking at contingency plans for my Poland and Czech Republic trip what with the horrible storms they had over the weekend. Both my Friday and Sunday games looked very dicey as both of the cities were in the worst affected areas. Thankfully, the Saturday looked promising, I'd contacted the hotel where I was staying and they said that Zabrze had avoided the worst of the flooding. But actually getting out of Ostrava might be an issue but that would have to be a decision made on Thursday. I'd lose money on parking, flights and one hotel room but that was nothing compared to the poor people who had been forced to evacuate their homes. We've had some pretty crappy weather in the UK in the past couple of years but it was nothing compared to the mass destruction that had gone on in that part of the world that had made the headlines in the UK.
I still had the finishing touches to put to my Northern Ireland trip too, but being the UK, everything was pretty straightforward. It's a reasonably early night and as a result, I wake before my 6 am alarm. After getting ready and having some breakfast, I leave later than intended at 6.30. Typically, the bus I was aiming before is a few minutes early and the later one ten minutes late which means a 25 minute wait at the bus stop. Happily, after a pitstop at Tesco for a meal deal, I walk straight on the Chiltern Line to Harrow, then a Metropolitan to Liverpool Street. It's standing room only for both but I am back to my planned schedule despite leaving my local bus stop 40 minutes later than intended. Dawdlers delayed getting off the train but security was exceptionally fast, less than five minutes. I popped down to Gate 44 4 to see fellow hopper Daniel at his place of work. It was then a couple of relaxed pints at Wetherspoons, Stowford Press at £5.50. A bottle of Irn Bru at WH Smith £3.50 before I made my way to Gate 81 where the Speedy boarding queue was longer than the normal one but moved quicker. But why pay to sit on the plane for longer? A mini incident was caused when a stupid woman asked for a paramedic and then refused to get off the plane. The staff were good in moving the human detritus but we took off 20 minutes late.
Even so, we are landed, people are quick getting off and we don't need to bother with security. I'm out of the airport by 2. The transfer for the 50-minute transfer to the city costs £13.50 return, very reasonable. We got to the town just before 3 and I was at my room 20 minutes later. The Belfast International Youth Hostel charged £42 a night for a basic room. It was clean and friendly enough but I was a bit concerned about the road noise, hopefully it would quieten down later. I stayed in my room until my phone was charged, going out just after 4. Impressions of Belfast at first sight were a bit underwhelming, but I didn't want to judge it at first sight. My first port of call was the Dirty Onion where I was told they did their own cider called Second Fiddle. They didn't, so I settled for a new one in Outcider. It was some crappy Inch's clone, overly sweet and £6.70 a pint. It was a pleasant enough place but I decided to press on. I had a wander around on my way to the only Wetherspoons in Belfast, The Bridge House. I'd had a look for somewhere interesting for dinner but nothing jumped out. Grilled Katsu Curry and a bottle of Aspalls did the job for £11.43. I then walked to the ground, arriving around 7.
The Oval was as brilliant as expected, a ground full of character and photo opportunities. I went to the club shop, the scarf more expensive than usual at £16 but with a lovely embroidered badge. A glossy programme for £4 was also purchased. There was food and a bar available but with these offering nothing special, I abstained. In terms of league placings, it was 5th v 10th. It showed on the field with the hosts going ahead on four minutes. Fisher held the ball up before finding Jay Donnelly who had a simple finish. Glentoran never looked in danger of losing the lead against a resilient but unambitious Loughgall. Danny Amos doubled the lead on 52 minutes, a low shot that had more precision than power found the bottom left corner. This brought the visitors out of their shell and they began to have more chances. There were no further goals and it was time to head back to my room. I walked past some nice moonlit sights but also past some feral rats letting off fireworks. I did consider a drink but the bars were full of students and booming music. All the shops were shut too so I cut my losses and went back to my room. I didn't fancy my chances of getting much sleep with the constant whir of traffic going past so I got on with this blog.
THE GROUND
THE OVAL is a majestic venue with the main feature being the two ends of terracing which could hold a good few thousand each. This of course is set in the oval shape that gives the ground its name. The main seating area is a two-tiered stand, a large upper tier and a smaller lower tier. Opposite is a similar-sized single tier stand but attendances means this is never open. The ground is creaking in places but has bags of charm. It'll be sad when it's inevitably redeveloped. There's a club bar in the stand, which offers a small range of drinks but looks like a good place for a drink. Food looks like it's supplied by and outsider caterer and is pretty uninspiring and pricey. There is a club shop with a decent range although a lot of it is behind a counter. There is plenty of parking or it's around 45 minutes walk from the city centre.
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