Irish League Football

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Linfield manager David Healy says his side's 1-1 draw at Larne was "frustrating".

The Blues fell behind at Inver Park to Leroy Millar's first-half goal, but responded early in the second half through Adam Frizzell.

Despite having numerical advantage in the closing stages when Millar was shown a red card, the champions could not find a winner but Healy felt a draw was probably a fair outcome.

"Going in one behind at half-time was probably frustrating as I thought we had the three best chances in the first half," Healy told BBC Sport NI.

"We needed the goal to get back into it and we were on the front foot after that without ever really dominating or creating many goal opportunities.

"We probably just didn't do enough to win the game."

While Larne boss Gary Haveron was unhappy with Millar's dismissal, Healy felt there was no malice in the Larne midfielder's challenge on Ethan McGee.

"I thought it was a tough tackle," he opined.

"I've known Leroy from his time at Ballymena - a big, strong honest boy and I think he just mistimed the tackle."

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Larne manager Gary Haveron felt referee Christopher Morrison "couldn't wait" to produce the red card for Leroy Millar in his side's 1-1 draw against Linfield.

Millar, who had given the Inver Park side a first-half lead, was shown red in the 78th-minute for lunging into Ethan McGee which saw his net come to a premature end.

Haveron felt the midfielder had looked back to his best prior to his sending off and will review the incident.

"Leroy would be the first to say he hasn't been at his best in recent weeks but he got about his work tonight and it was a very good performance," Haveron told BBC Sport NI.

"He's gone in for a block tackle and the referee has sprinted over to send him off, couldn't wait to get over there.

"It's disappointing because it impacts on the game and because his individual performance was excellent. We'll have to look back at it and go through a process."

The draw saw Larne move three clear at the top of the table from Coleraine, with Linfield a further two points behind in third.

Following disappointing defeats by Portadown and Carrick Rangers, the Larne boss was happy his side found a response against the Blues despite now going four league games without a win.

"We know our last couple of performances haven't been good enough and I have to take full responsibility," he added.

"We had to bounce back from that and show our fans what it means to play for the football club and I thought we did that."

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Bangor centre-back Bangor Mark Haughey and January signing Iestyn Hughes have both now been discharged from hospital.

Play was stopped in the 38th minute of Bangor's match against Glenavon on Saturday when Haughey dropped to his knees off the ball and was treated by medics.

Bangor manager Lee Feeney said Haughey, 35, was able to walk to the ambulance after being treated on the pitch for an issue with his heart.

Earlier in the game, Hughes sustained a facial injury following a tackle in the opening 10 minutes.

There were two lengthy delays while both players received treatment which resulted in eight minutes of additional time in the first half.

"Mark Haughey has now been discharged from hospital and is back home," a statement on Bangor's social media channels read on Tuesday.

"Following further checks, doctors are satisfied there are no underlying concerns at this stage and everything is progressing positively.

"Mark would like to pass on his sincere thanks to the medical teams at Bangor FC and Glenavon FC, as well as staff at the Ulster Hospital, for their care and support.

"He also greatly appreciates all the messages of encouragement and well wishes received over the past few days."

Speaking immediately after the match, Bangor manager Feeney had provided a short update on both players.

"Hughes had a nail in his eye so his eye could be cut. Mark's was very, very concerning," said Feeney.

"He [Haughey] had to get a lot of work done for his heart. Hopefully this doesn't sound too dramatic, but he walked into the ambulance so that is a positive and I just pray to God he is OK."

Defender Haughey signed for the Seasiders at the start of the season and has played 21 matches for the side in the Premiership this season.

The 35-year-old has also featured for Glenavon and Linfield during his illustrious top-flight career.

"Haughey has been super for us and we missed him there when he went off," Feeney continued.

"You don't like seeing that."

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Linfield midfielder Kyle McClean said "there is no talks of leagues" and "absolutely no pressure on us at the minute" after the Blues' 1-0 victory over Glentoran.

After Tuesday night's big win over Dungannon Swifts, David Healy said that retaining the Gibson Cup was "unlikely, but not impossible".

However, after Larne's defeat on Friday and Linfield's derby win over the Glens, the odds are now more in their favour than they were a week ago.

Despite a shock Irish Cup exit at the hands of Championship front runners Limavady United, the Blues are now nine games unbeaten in the league and are hitting form at the sharp end of the season, aided by Matthew Fitzpatrick's goalscoring run.

"From the turn of the year, we know we have been in good form in the league and we knew we were on a good run," McClean told BBC Sport NI.

"We knew that we needed to be better from the first half of the season and we are taking it game by game. There is absolutely no pressure on us at the minute.

"We are just going about our business and trying to win games and trying to get up the table.

"Thankfully in recent weeks we have done that and certainly in that dressing room we are just wanting to win game by game and see where we end up in the league."

Linfield may be playing things down, but Healy's reaction at full-time, where he clenched his fists at the crowd, was the celebration of a man who knows the dream of a record-extending 57th Gibson Cup is still well and truly alive after a big win over their rivals.

Andy Gray
BBC Sport NI Journalist

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In the middle of January, Larne had just defeated Glentoran to move 10 points clear at the top of the table.

Now, in a twist that few saw coming, that lead is down to just two points.

While Gary Haveron's side lost their second game in a row, rivals Coleraine and Linfield took full advantage to close in on the leaders.

Larne are still favourites to win the title with a two-point lead and a game in hand, but their run of three games without a win has opened the door for late-season drama.

A lot of Larne's troubles have come from a defence that had been so solid, yet has now started to leak goals.

By the end of January, the Inver Park side had conceded just 13 goals in 26 matches. It had been the bedrock of their title campaign.

But in three league matches in February, they are without a win and have conceded seven goals in three games, with one point to show for their troubles as a draw with Glentoran was followed by losses to Portadown and Carrick Rangers.

Speaking after the derby loss to Carrick, Haveron's frustration was evident as he challenged his players to bounce back against Linfield on Tuesday.

That game was always going to be important, but given the momentum of both sides it feels like a pivotal moment in the title race.

"The last couple of results are from ideal and we've let the others back into the mix," Haveron said.

"That's on us and it's now how we react from this moment on.

"I'm sure I'll get a reaction from the players in the right way."

After failing to properly convert Larne's slip-up against Portadown with their own 1-1 draw with in-form Carrick, Coleraine's win over Ballymena on Friday brought them to within touching distance of the top.

That gap now stands at two points, although Larne and Linfield have a game in hand over the Bannsiders.

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Former Portadown title winner Philip Major said the lack of leadership was a worry for Crusaders, who lost Jarlath O'Rourke and Ross Clarke to Glentoran in January, and when asked if he feared for the Seaview side he said, "I do".

Crusaders last won a game of football on 3 January with the side losing five and drawing one match since in the Premiership.

The Lurgan Blues victory on Saturday means that they are now seven points behind Declan Caddell's side.

"I'm concerned for them regarding the leadership on the pitch. That is something that has given them some trouble this season," Major said on Sportsound.

"They have lost a lot of leaders in their dressing room and they need to create much more resilience as a squad. So far it hasn't really happened and I'd guess it is because there are so many young players.

"Maybe they'll grow into that role, but whether they will grow quickly enough to get themselves out of that play-off position, I'd have reservations.

Crucially, the bottom two sides still have to face each other two more times this season - and both will be crucial.

First of all, on 14 March the Lurgan Blues will travel to Seaview and they will play again at Mourneview Park in the post-split fixtures.

"If Glenavon continue with their upward trajectory then you could see them looking at Crusaders and thinking they have something to play for."

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Glenavon manager Michael O'Connor said he was "delighted" with his side's performance in their win over Bangor on Saturday, as Conor Falls scored twice and Barney McKeown also netted.

The result is the first time the Lurgan Blues, who are bottom of the table, have picked up points on the road this season, while eleventh placed Crusaders slipped to a 5-2 defeat in the north Belfast derby at Cliftonville.

O'Connor said he aimed to avoid relegation when he took the job at Mourneview Park and that that ambition hasn't changed with his side now seven points behind the Crues.

"We were 11 points behind at that point [when O'Connor took charge] and Crusaders had two or three games in hand," he said on BBC Radio Ulster.

"We're slowly but surely getting there. The next nine games are nine cup finals for us. You have to give everything you have, you can't have any regrets.

"It's only three points at the end of the day and we have to move on to Tuesday."

On the other hand, Crusaders coach Sean O'Neill said they were made to pay for an "awful" opening 20 minutes against Cliftonville.

O'Neill, who joined the Crues' coaching set-up in January, said it "wasn't good enough" but the onus was on the club to turn their form around, and not worry about Glenavon's recent upturn results.

"Look, we just have to rely on ourselves. We need points on the board, and we need them as soon as possible," he told BBC Sport NI.

"The fact that other teams are picking up results is what it is. We can't worry about what others are doing, we have to look after ourselves.

"For too many weeks now, too many lads have been looking over their shoulder, and that's not the Crusaders way.

"We need to knuckle down, get points on the board, and get back at it."

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Linfield midfielder Kyle McClean said that playing with Matthew Fitzpatrick is a "pleasure" after the striker netted the winner in the 'Big Two' derby at Windsor Park.

Fitzpatrick scored the only goal of the game in the second half as the Blues moved to within five points of league leaders Larne.

The 32-year-old has scored 17 goals this league campaign and has been heavily involved in Linfield's nine-game unbeaten run in the league.

"Last year, if you look at his numbers, he was right up there as he has been this year. He has been brilliant," McClean told BBC Sport NI.

"To play with Fitzy, for me, is a dream because he takes the ball, allows me to make runs forward and creates opportunities. The last couple of seasons, he has started to find form in front of goal.

"I have said it since he came through the door, he is a top lad and a pleasure to play with."

Linfield manager David Healy added that the result is a "big win" as the defending champions aim to pull off a late title charge.

"Pleased and pleased with the effort," Healy told BBC Sport NI.

"Declan [Devine], Tim [McCann] and Paddy [McCourt] have put a real team together at Glentoran. Glentoran supporters have been waiting a long time for an opportunity to go and be successful and their squad is loaded with players who can hurt you.

"It is a big win for us today against a very good team."