Glentoran's Pat Hoban scored his first goal of the season in the 2-0 win over Limavady United, highlighting his ruthless talismanic qualities. Manager Declan Devine praised Hoban's professionalism and strength. The 35-year-old striker netted his first goal of the season after 63 minutes, doubling Glentoran's advantage after substitute Jordan Stewart had netted an opener two minutes prior.
What happened?
Glentoran manager Declan Devine highlighted prolific Pat Hoban as a prime example “every young player should look at” after putting a stop-start pre-season behind him to open his goal account in Saturday’s 2-0 Premiership victory over newcomers Limavady United.
Why it matters for Glentoran
Hoban enjoyed a dream debut Irish League campaign last term, netting 26 times in 32 matches on his way to topping the individual goal charts and collecting NIFL’s ‘Player of the Year’ award. Devine hailed his ruthless talisman, saying: “Pat has been stop-start during pre-season. He picked up a couple of niggles towards the end of last season because, let's be honest, Pat played nearly a season-and-a-half last year. He came halfway through Derry City's season and then played a full season for us. The one thing I will say about him is, even though he hasn't trained a lot in pre-season, his conditioning, his professionalism, his strength, is something that every young player should look at. Even when he's not training as often as he would like, his levels of professionalism are second to none. He probably doesn't have as many touches in the game as he would like, but when you present him with a chance, nine times out of ten, he's going to take it.”
What comes next?
Glentoran are now preparing to take on Linfield at Windsor Park in their first ‘Big Two’ showdown. Devine is clear it’ll take a collective effort to fight for major honours this term - and Devine is now preparing to take his side to Windsor Park for a first ‘Big Two’ showdown against Linfield. The Glens chief is clear it’ll take a collective effort to fight for major honours this term - and Devine is now preparing to take his side to Windsor Park for a first ‘Big Two’ showdown against Linfield.
Glentoran are currently 4 points behind leaders Larne in the title race, with a league standing of 2nd in Northern Ireland Premiership, 69 pts, 21W-6D-6L from 33 games, recent form LDWWD. They have scored 63 goals this season, conceding 30, with a +33 goal difference. Their next fixture is away to Coleraine FC on 2026-10-31, where they will be looking to continue their winning form.
