Ciaran all stitched up forvisit of the champions

Ciaran Martyn recovers after his knock at Shamrock Park.

The Glenavon midfielder was at the centre of the major talking point of the derby when he was brought down on the edge of the box and needed stitches in a cut just above the eye.

“I just nicked the ball ahead of Keith with my head and I caught the full force of his boot,” said Ciaran. “He went for the ball but just caught me. I have done it myself, I just got in before him.

“To be honest I thought it was inside the box and a penalty but I didn’t really know much about the incident after getting hit nor did I know Andy McGrory had put the ball in the net.

“The doctor stitched me up but thankfully it was above the eye.

“I have trained this week and am looking forward to the game against Cliftonville.

“We have had a run of really tough games of late and this is perhaps the toughest. I know there are no easy games, but they are a formidable outfit.

“We have already seen this season that any team can win on the day. Lately a few decisions have gone against us and it has cost us points but there is no point in moaning about it, you just have to get on with it and hope that it will even out over the course of the season.

“With key players out on Saturday we need the crowd to get behind us more than ever. Hopefully we can get something out of the game.”