Former Irish League striker reflects on playing for both Linfield and Glentoran on Boxing Day

Lethal marksman Allen enjoyed the highest of highs on December 26, 2017, scoring a brace for Glentoran in their 2-1 triumph over former club Linfield at The Oval.

Not many players get to experience playing on both sides of the biggest fixture in Irish League football, but Allen did – and feels fortunate to have done so.

The ‘Big Two’ Boxing Day meeting produces the season’s largest attendance outside of cup finals with over 6,000 packing into the East Belfast venue to watch Allen’s heroics eight years ago, while more than 10,000 tickets have been sold for this term’s edition.

Playing in front of such numbers brings an extra pressure not associated with normal matchdays, but Allen thrived on the occasion.

"You want to play in front of the big crowds and best atmospheres,” he reflected. “I had the best of both worlds, playing on both sides.

"It's a fantastic occasion and if you're lucky enough to play in a Boxing Day 'Big Two' then you have to be thankful...it's one you remember.

"The more experienced you are, the more you understand it. It's a big occasion and you want to thrive on that stage.

"It's a big chance to make a name for yourself in one game. There's no trophies handed out on Boxing Day but it seems to be the one everybody wants to win.

"It can throw a few extra nerves in, but you have to keep calm and thrive on that pressure."

The Glens hadn’t won a Boxing Day showdown in six years prior to Allen popping up in the dying moments in 2017.

When returning to work after Christmas, questions of ‘how was your break?’ are often determined by what the result was – scorelines have a unique ability to make or break the festive period.

For Allen, 2017 couldn’t have worked out much better, but 12 months later, Glentoran lost 4-0 in front of almost 7,000 spectators at Windsor Park.

With bragging rights on the line, Boxing Day is an occasion which always brings extra spice as you look to deliver for your faithful fans.

"I hadn't scored for a couple of weeks, not that it's a long stretch, but it felt like it,” he says of 2017. “I scored in the first half and then again late on.

"I remember I was staying up in Limavady so had a mad dash through the radio interviews and up the road. I went for dinner and the people behind us were Glentoran fans who had been at the game!

"It was an amazing night then because you'd won, scored the winner...it was great for everybody involved.

"It's a day where you really want to win and it seems teams just go for it, which is great. If you get a hammering it can be tricky, you go home disappointed, especially if you haven't performed well.

"Having kids is the best thing because you go in and they don't understand, they just want to see their daddy and it gets you over it maybe quicker."

Allen also got to experience another feisty rivalry against Ballymena United across two spells at Coleraine, scoring in both 2011 and 2012 as the Bannsiders picked up consecutive 2-0 wins.

Keeping the magic of Boxing Day alive is considered amongst the biggest arguments behind not adjusting the current Irish League calendar, but Allen feels it’s something that should be looked at if it benefits the Premiership as a whole.

"It's hard because if you're going to go summer football you have to do it like everyone else does, I don't think it would work if you adjusted it,” he said. “You have to be mindful of people with families and jobs.

"It's maybe different now for the full-time teams, but part-time teams, I don't think it would work for them.

"I also don't think building a Boxing Day-type match into a different stage of the year would work either.

"That's a big decision which has to be made for the good of the league and teams progressing. It would be disappointing to not have Boxing Day, but if it was for the good of the league, players and teams progressing, it wouldn't be the worst thing."