McAree wary of Glenavon threat

COLERAINE will aim to make it two wins on the bounce as they make the trip to Mourneview Park this evening (KO 7:45pm)…

The Bannsiders ended a run of back-to-back defeats last weekend as Jamie McGonigle’s seventh goal of the season was enough to overcome Ards at The Showgrounds. It was a welcome three points for the Stripes who remain in 6th position in the table ahead of a busy run of fixtures.

As for Glenavon, they have only won one game out of their last six and were beaten 4-2 by Cliftonville last time out. Goals from Conor McCloskey and Andy Mitchell had the Lurgan Blues in the lead, but they failed to keep the home side at bay and were punished.

Gary Hamilton’s men inflicted the Irish Cup holders’ first league defeat in almost a year in the previous meeting between the two sides back in October. A deadly hat-trick from Stephen Murray was the catalyst as Glenavon ran out 4-1 winners at The Showgrounds. The two clashes between the teams ended in draws at Mourneview Park last season.

Coleraine boss Rodney McAree will be without the services of Aaron Traynor and Ian Parkhill for the fixture. There is also fitness doubts over Aaron Burns and Stephen O’Donnell as both players are carrying knocks. There is a boost as Adam Mullan returns from suspension, alongside Lyndon Kane and James McLaughlin who made their comeback from injuries last weekend.

Speaking ahead of the fixture, the boss has challenged his players to produce a better performance in front of the BBC cameras.

“It’s a different match and the last game (4-1 defeat) is gone,” he said.

“Obviously its three points that we lost so we would like to get them back.

“It’s going to be extremely difficult as they have a lot of firepower.

“It’s another game on BBC and hopefully we perform better than we did against Newry.”

As ever, those unable to attend can follow the latest updates via the club’s official Twitter account (@ColeraineFC).