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In 1882, two teams, Nettlefield and Oakfield who both used Ormeau Park as their home both hit a financial crisis. The two teams decided to join forces, a new name for the club was reached, Glentoran. Victor Coates was the man that led this team into being, the name was registered on the 7th November 1882 with the Irish FA. One problem was faced, what were the colours to be?
The colours were decided when a touring cricket team, the Na Shula's came to Belfast. The young Glentoran hopefuls admired their courage and desire to win. They wore red, green and black, colours, which were ideal for Glentoran F.C. The colours in which we still see today.
In the early stages of existence, Glentoran found it hard to compete with other teams around them, clubs like Avoniel, Cliftonville, Distillery, Down Athletic, Limavady, Castledawson and Moyola Park, the first winners of the Irish Cup.
With the onset of 1983, Avoniel F.C. folded with the majority of their players joining Glentoran. This instilled 'the Glens' as the major force in East Belfast where young players now had the will and desire to join the club.
The competitions for Glentoran were limited, there was the Irish Cup, the Charity Cup, the County Down Cup and the County Antrim Shield.
In Glentoran's first Charity Cup victory, they beat Oldpark after 3 ¼ hours, with the first goal deciding the victors. This established Glentoran as a major force throughout the Ireland.
With stature growing, Glentoran needed a new ground. Ormeau Park just wasn't suitable any more, so they moved right into the heart of East Belfast to Westbourne or King's Field. Next move was to Dee Street and the Oval.
It was now a team filled potential and with the formation of the Irish League in 1890 saw Glentoran become one of the favourites to lift the trophy.
In 1886, the formation of a new team, Linfield, won the Irish League the first three years. A rivalry started to boil over between the two teams when Glentoran prevented them from lifting the Gibson Cup for the fourth year running by winning the championship in the 1893/94 season.
The Oval was now being upgraded, Glentoran were expanding and building a reputation, a good way to prepare for the 20th Century.
With the 20th Century, brought the Oval, Glentoran's new home. The area was bleak looking, but with imagination, it was to be transformed into a sports stadium of the future.
A stand was built, dressing rooms, a cycling track round the outskirts of the pitch. The cycling track once staged the British Empire Championships.
1904, young defender, English McConnell signed for the Glens. He was a great player who went onto play for Cliftonville, Sunderland and Sheffield Wednesday. He also made 12 appearnces for Ireland, and featured in the memorable 1-0 win over Scotland in which he completely outplayed the legendary Jimmy Quinn(Glasgow Celtic).
In 1900-01, Glentoran won their first ever County Antrim Shield with a 2-1 defeat of Cliftonville. A year later, they won it again, this time by defeating Distillery.
History was made in 1909 when the Glentoran reserves won the County Antrim Shield when they defeated Cliftonville. They were the first ever reserve side to lift the County Antrim Shield and whats more they defeated their own first eleven on the way to the final!
In 1914 Glentoran won the Vienna Cup, becoming the first British or Irish team to win a European trophy.
George Best watched Glentoran with his grandfather as a youth, but was rejected by the club for being "too small and light". However Best did make one appearance for Glentoran, in the club's centenary match against Manchester United.
In 1964/65, Glentoran faced Panathinaikos in the European Cup and drew 2-2 at home and lost 3-2 away. In the following season's Fairs Cup, they faced Antwerp resulting a 1-0 defeat away and 3-3 draw at home. The Cup Winners' Cup in 1966/67 saw Glentoran draw 1-1 with Glasgow Rangers in front of a packed Oval before losing the away leg 4-0.
Glentoran's, and probably Irish League football's, finest hour came in a European Cup encounter with Benfica in 1967. The tie was played over two legs, the first being at the Oval. Glentoran scored a penalty early on and held out for nearly 60 minutes until football legend Eusébio equalised. The match ended 1-1. The return tie was at Benfica's famous Estádio da Luz. Part-time Glentoran were expected to crumble under the pressure of the occasion, but again held out for a famous draw. Benfica advanced to the next round on the away goals rule.
In 1973/74, Glentoran took advantage of a comparatively weak field to reach the quarter-finals of the Cup Winners' Cup. They faced Borussia Monchengladbach in the quarter-finals and were beaten 2-0 and 5-0. Four seasons later they faced Juventus in a European Cup match and lost 1-0 at home and 5-0 away.
In 1981/82, Glentoran reached the second round of the European Cup and faced eventual semi-finalists CSKA Sofia. After a 2-0 defeat away, Glentoran went 2-0 up in the return leg to force the game into extra time. The final result was 2-1, Glentoran going out 3-2 on aggregate.
On the 23 April 2005 Glentoran defeated their rivals Linfield in one of Irish League football's most memorable encounters. In the 93rd minute of the match, Glentoran, who needed victory in order to have a chance of clinching the league title, scored a goal via their centre forward (and former Linfield player) Chris Morgan. The goal sealed the victory for Glentoran, sending the Glentoran crowd into a frenzy. This incited the Linfield crowd at the match, who were then involved in altercations with Glentoran supporters, eventually requiring the use of riot police to restore order.This day is now known as fellow Glenmen as "Morgan Day"! Hooliganism was commonplace at matches between the clubs in the past. However this has reduced significantly in recent years.
After eight years in charge of Glentoran, Roy Coyle resigned as manager after a string of indifferent results. At the time the club announced that assistant manager Tommy Kincaid would take over on a caretaker basis. On 14 February 2006 the club announced that former Newry City manager Paul Millar will take over the manager's position
