Derby Matches Dominate Boxing Day Football Schedule

Glentoran will host Linfield, and Crusaders will welcome Cliftonville, as part of six scheduled derby matches on Boxing Day. Irish Premiership enthusiasts consider the customary derby fixtures on December 26 nearly as thrilling as Christmas Day itself. This unique matchday, featuring all 12 teams competing simultaneously and with most tickets sold out, represents a genuine holiday highlight for fans of the Irish League. Prior to this significant day, BBC Sport NI has prepared a preview for each of the six contests. Beyond radio broadcasts on Sportsound via BBC Radio Ulster and BBC Sounds, the BBC Sport website will offer live text updates, a match report, post-game reactions, and highlights from what is considered one of the season’s most eagerly awaited days. Coleraine has emerged victorious in both encounters against Ballymena this season. Ballymena manager Jim Ervin’s preparations for their away fixture against Coleraine have been hindered by player suspensions. Essential players Ben Kennedy and Josh Carson will be unavailable, having both received red cards during Ballymena’s 3-2 triumph over Loughgall on Saturday. Ervin commented, “It’s a headache I could have done without, but it gives other players opportunities.” The Sky Blues are eager to secure their initial win of the season against the Bannsiders, who previously defeated them 4-2 at Ballycastle Road in August and 1-0 at the Showgrounds in October. Coleraine’s manager, Dean Shiels, has had an extended period to ready his team for the match, as they did not play on Saturday, and the home side aims to conclude their three-game winless streak in the league. Earlier in the season, Gormley netted the decisive goal for Cliftonville in their match against Crusaders. Both teams, having recently faced difficulties in securing positive outcomes, will be seeking a victory at Seaview that could revitalize their faltering seasons. The North Belfast adversaries concluded their initial derby of the season in August with a 1-1 draw, prior to the Reds achieving a slim 1-0 win in November. Both teams’ rosters have been significantly depleted by injuries and suspensions. The Crues are presently without eight first-team members, while Cliftonville is missing the suspended Jonny Addis and Odhran Casey. Following his team’s 1-0 loss at Portadown, Crues manager Declan Caddell stated, “The quicker I get injured players back the better, but we can’t feel sorry for ourselves.” Cliftonville assistant manager Gerard Lyttle observed, “Both teams are going through a tough spell at the minute with a few defeats in a row and it’s two teams that will look to put things right.” Loughgall has experienced a challenging season to date, sitting six points behind at the foot of the table with only three victories. Nevertheless, manager Dean Smith will draw encouragement from the Villagers’ strong performance in October, when they defeated the Swifts 3-1, marking one of their best displays of the campaign. “It’s a derby game and we have to try pick ourselves up for it,” he remarked following their recent loss to Ballymena. Swifts manager Rodney McAree expressed his hope that his players would be prepared for Thursday, given the short recovery period since Monday’s defeat against Larne. He stated, “Loughgall came here and beat us last time, so we have to make sure we’re ready and focused and go about our business the right way.” Earlier in the season, Ahu Obhakhan secured the winning goal for Portadown in their match against Glenavon. With one team battling at the lower end of the table and the other surprisingly positioned in second place, Glenavon and Portadown have experienced vastly different seasons. In their direct confrontations this term, each side has secured a victory: Glenavon won 2-1 at home in October, and Portadown achieved a 1-0 win at Shamrock Park in November. Glenavon manager Paddy McLaughlin commented, “It’s sold out at Mourneview and it’s set up for a cracking game. We should take a lot of confidence from our performance against Linfield [a 1-0 loss] into the game.” Concurrently, Portadown boss Niall Currie anticipates his team will maintain their strong seasonal start, especially with Shay McCartan returning from injury. Last month, teenager James Douglas scored a late winning goal for Glentoran against Linfield in the BetMcLean Cup. Linfield aims to halt a sequence of three consecutive losses against their primary rivals, Glentoran, in the Big Two derby. Despite their recent strong performances against the Blues, Glens manager Declan Devine recognizes that his team needs to perform optimally against the league leaders. He informed BBC Sport NI, “We’re under no illusions, Linfield are so far ahead in the league for a reason, and we have been outstanding against them this season, but we need to raise our game again.” Blues manager David Healy desires his team to deliver a commendable performance following their recent subpar showings against the Glens. He asserted, “I wouldn’t say we owe Glentoran one. We owe ourselves a performance.” These two teams have not yet competed in the league this season because of Larne’s European commitments, which have resulted in them having six outstanding matches. This will mark Carrick manager Stephen Baxter’s initial experience of the East Antrim derby; he has had additional preparation time since his team was not in action over the weekend. In the previous season, Larne dominated the encounters between the two clubs, securing victories in all three matches, notably a decisive 4-1 win at home. Gary Haveron will oversee his inaugural Boxing Day derby as Larne’s manager and hopes his team can sustain their ascent in the standings with an additional win. Haveron remarked, “We need our fans to come out and support us. We want to implement our style of play on them, we know how Carrick play, but we need to focus on what we do well.” Sandi Toksvig will be accompanied by Gyles Brandreth, Lulu, Emmanuel Sonubi, and Alan Davies. Take the microphone for performances by Queen, Taylor Swift, Bon Jovi, Katy Perry, and others. Ben Fogle and Kate Humble return for the holiday celebrations at Longleat Safari Park. Topics range from microplastics in our atmosphere, ground, and aquatic systems, to the volume of food waste generated during this period of the year. © 2024 BBC. The BBC disclaims responsibility for the material found on external websites. Information regarding our policy on external linking is available.