Glenavon and Glentoran in scoreless draw

Do not be fooled by the scoreline - it was an action packed night under the Friday night lights at Mourneview Park.

Both Eddie Patterson and Gary Hamilton will feel their teams could have won this game, with the latter possibly having the biggest right to feel aggrieved that his team didn’t get all three points.

Each side made a change from Saturday’s line-ups, with Conor Dillon coming into the starting lineup to replace the injured David Elebert for Glenavon, with Steven Gordon replacing Fra McCaffrey, who dropped to the bench, for the visitors.

If this had been a boxing match, it would have been stopped in the first half. How it was still 0-0 at the break will remain a mystery as both teams spurned umpteen chances to break the deadlock.

Glenavon had the most chances to go in front and could have been three or four up inside the first 25 minutes. Rhys Marshall had a header blocked on the line from a Kyle Neill corner, before the same player had another headed chance tipped onto the bar by Aaron Hogg.

Glentoran were saved again by some last gasp defending when, from an Andy Kilmartin free kick, Joel Cooper had a chance cleared off the line, before James Singleton knocked an Andy Hall corner over the top of Hogg’s goal.

Eoin Bradley was the unluckiest of the lot as he got a head to Kilmartin’s beautifully floated free kick. With Hogg beaten, he could only watch as his chance came back off the base of the post.

The Belfast Glens managed to get a few chances as the half wore on, the best falling to Curtis Allen as he tried to take advantage of a sliced clearance by Kilmartin, heading over the top Jonathan Tuffey’s goal.

The action kept coming at the start of the second period with Allen unlucky not to find the net with a right-footed drive which went wide of the post.

At the other end Cooper should have broken the deadlock when he raced onto a low cross by Kevin Braniff but fired over from inside the six yard box, before Braniff forced a save from Hogg with a powerfully struck low free kick.

Both teams were going all guns blazing for a winner in the closing stages and the visitors almost got it with four minutes to go. An attempted clearance fell to Steven Gordon, whose shot was almost too hot for Tuffey to handle.

GLENAVON: Tuffey, Neill, Dillon, Lindsay, Kilmartin, Marshall, Cooper, Bradley, Hall, Braniff, Singleton. Subs: Kelly (Neill 79), Patton (Cooper 74), McGrory, O’Brien, Hamilton (Braniff 74).

GLENTORAN: Hogg, Kane, Birney, Scullion, Allen, Holland, McAlorum, Addis, Nelson, Gordonm McMenemin. Subs: Garrett, Gibson (Nelson 85), Magee, McCaffrey (Scullion 72), McCullough.

REFEREE: Arnold Hunter (Maguiresbridge)