Linfield and Glentoran drew blanks in a stalemate draw in the much-anticipated annual Boxing Day derby at The Oval this afternoon, in what was the first Boxing Day goalless draw between the teams since 1996.
The Blues were without striker Matthew Fitzpatrick, as well as Ben Hall who picked up an injury in the second half of Saturday’s 1-0 home win over Glenavon. Euan East returned to start after missing the weekend, however Kyle McClean and Darragh McBrien remain sidelined. Charlie Allen returned to the squad, too– he was on the bench after seven weeks out injured.
Whilst this eagerly-awaited fixture didn’t deliver the expected drama in terms of goals, the sold-out crowd certainly left with plenty of talking points as both teams finished up with ten men.
Glentoran had the better of the first half chances and would have been disappointed not to be ahead at half-time. They had the first meaningful opportunity in the 13th minute when Jordan Jenkins turned smartly inside the box before pulling his low left-footed strike wide of the far post. Then, within two minutes, they went close through Danny Amos’ corner which went just wide of the post following a touch off a Linfield player.
Glentoran had many set-pieces, but Linfield defended them manfully which pleased manager David Healy having been undone at corners in previous meetings against Glentoran this season. That said, on occasion the ball did drop kindly to Glentoran players following initial set-piece duels. That was the case when a Glentoran corner was headed out to the edge of the box where winger Dylan Connolly struck a sweet half-volley which was met by an important block by Scot Whiteside in front of goal.
Similarly, five minutes later a Glentoran free-kick was clipped into the box and the second ball fell for defender Kodi Lyons-Foster who hooked his left foot around a half-volley which he put wide of the post from a promising area.
The Glens’ front pairing of David Fisher and Jordan Jenkins were willing runners and a real threat in behind. Jenkins had the best opportunity of the first half as he timed his run well to get in behind, meeting Singleton’s flick-on after Kane stabbed the ball forward. Jenkins managed to poke the ball beyond the onrushing Linfield ‘keeper Walsh, however it went wide of the post.
The Blues failed to test the Glentoran goalkeeper in the first half, but did threaten ten minutes before the break when Chris McKee found Kirk Millar down the right and he fizzed in a low cross right across the face of goal. The Glentoran goalkeeper went down low at full stretch but didn’t get anything on it, and Joel Cooper couldn’t get there at the back post.
Chris Shields was adjudged to have fouled David Fisher in the closing stages of the half, leading to a Glentoran free-kick in a dangerous position on the edge of the box. Danny Amos struck it and went the goalkeeper’s side, but Walsh stood his ground and pushed it wide. A minute later, Euan East made an excellent last-ditch tackle to stop Connolly going through on goal, and the Blues were glad to hear the half-time whistle.
HT: Glentoran 0-0 Linfield
The Blues looked more threatening in attack early in the second half and put together a dangerous counter-attack as Stephen Fallon set Joel Cooper away into space in a central area. Cooper then found McKee on the right and he fed the overlapping run of Kirk Millar whose low cutback was just slightly beyond the reach of Cooper in the middle.
Then, Glentoran had another big chance as Jordan Jenkins beat Sam Roscoe for pace to go through on goal, but this time he was denied by a good save by David Walsh who saved with his feet.
One of the major talking points of the match came in the 58th minute when Jordan Jenkins once again raced through on goal to meet a through ball, before touching the ball past David Walsh and hitting the deck. The referee awarded Glentoran a free-kick where the incident happened 30 yards from goal, and also showed a yellow card to David Walsh. Glentoran were unhappy that Walsh wasn’t shown a different colour for what they perceived to be denial of an obvious goalscoring opportunity, however the referee must have thought the two Linfield defenders on Jenkins’ shoulder would have covered the danger. Walsh, meanwhile, was also unhappy as he felt there was no foul at all.
The Blues went up the other end and nearly broke the deadlock a minute later with a good move as Stephen Fallon spread the ball out wide right to Kirk Millar who crossed into the middle for Fallon who continued his run before heading against the crossbar.
Glentoran did then get their wish for a Linfield red card. It came 11 minutes after the Walsh incident as Sam Roscoe was sent off. The central defender had been on a booking from the 24th minute when he was adjudged to have pulled back Fisher. His second booking was a controversial one as he looked to shield the ball away from striker Jenkins and they tangled in the process. The defender was in disbelief.
Facing 21 minutes plus additional time with ten men, David Healy changed things, bringing on Ethan McGee for Chris McKee and going to a back five. Eight minutes later, Stephen Fallon and Kirk Millar were replaced by Cameron Ballantyne and Josh Archer for fresh legs in midfield.
Things were evened up in the 83rd minute when Glentoran captain Marcus Kane was sent off following a second booking as he lost a battle against Cooper and seemed to pull the Linfield man back.
In total there were ten bookings and two red cards in the match but, whilst both teams were totally committed and giving it everything, it was not the kicking match that the booking tally may suggest. Outwith Sam Roscoe, the Linfield players booked were Kirk Millar, Matthew Orr, David Walsh, Scot Whiteside and Chris Shields.
Shields’ booking sees him reach the threshold of five yellow cards in the Sports Direct Premiership this season, meaning he’s now facing an automatic one-match suspension and will miss the Blues’ clash with Larne next Monday evening. Sam Roscoe’s sending off will also trigger a one-match suspension, so he too will miss the match against Larne at Windsor Park.
Plenty of cards handed out this Boxing Day, and many chances – most of them for Glentoran – but no goals. The Blues sit 12 points clear at the top of the Premiership this evening, although in theory Larne would be four points behind if they were to win their six matches in hand. Therefore, it’ll be another massive match when Linfield welcome Larne to Windsor Park on Monday night, as the Blues hope to strengthen their position.
FT: Glentoran 0-0 Linfield