Larne manager Gary Haveron said his side's defending in the first half of Friday night's 3-2 defeat by Carrick Rangers was "pathetic" and they "have let people come back into the mix" for the Irish Premiership title.

Goals from Danny Gibson, Joe Crowe and Paul Heatley gave the away side a comfortable lead at the break. Tiarnan O'Connor and Dan Bent netted in the second half for Larne, but they were unable to find a crucial third goal.

The Inver Reds are now without a win in their last three games after being held by 10-man Glentoran and beaten by Portadown.

"The first half performance, our defending is pathetic and I can't say it any other way," Haveron told BBC Sport NI

"The three goals we concede are criminal from our perspective and it is something we pride ourselves on and the last couple of games were brutal. A horrendous performance in the first half and the damage was done in the first half.

"The whole starting XI, if I could have made 11 substitutes at half-time, I would have done it."

Larne now have a two-point lead at the top of the Irish Premiership but have a game in hand over Coleraine in second position.

However, Haveron added his side have no one to blame but themselves for the gap now being so tight as the Inver Reds aim to clinch the Premiership title after Linfield won the Gibson Cup last season.

"The last couple of results are far from ideal," he continued.

"We have let people come back into the mix and that is only on us.

"It is how we react. We have Linfield here on Tuesday and we have to be a lot better than we have been. I am sure we will be and I will get a reaction from the players in the right way."

Image source, Inpho

Watch highlights as Carrick Rangers beat league leaders Larne 3-2 at Inver Park in the Irish Premiership on Friday night.

You can find a summary of all of Friday's action here.

Here is how the league table looks ahead of today's Irish Premiership action.

Image source, BBC Sport

Hello and welcome to our coverage of today's four Irish Premiership games.

We have two games kicking off at 15:00 GMT, one at 17:30 and a livestream at 18:00.

In the two early games, Bangor host bottom side Glenavon, while there is a north Belfast derby at Solitude as Cliftonville face struggling Crusaders.

At 17:30, Portadown, who picked up a big win against Larne last week, welcome Dungannon Swifts to Shamrock Park.

At 18:00, you can watch Linfield take on Glentoran in a 'Big Two' derby on BBC iPlayer, a game that will have big implications on the title race.

We will have live text commentary and in-play clips from all four games.

Enjoy!

Image source, Inpho