Irish League Football

Jana McCabe
BBC Sport NI journalist

Image source, Inpho

Larne manager Gary Haveron said his side's defending in the first half of their 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

Coleraine manager Ruaidhri Higgins says he is "just delighted to get the three points" as his side closed in on leaders Larne thanks to their 1-0 victory over Ballymena United.

Will Patching's first half goal was enough to see his side claim victory at the Showgrounds as Larne fell to a defeat at home to Carrick Rangers which leaves Higgins' side just two points adrift.

However, the Bannsiders' boss said events at Inver Park were "irrelevant" unless his team got he job done and was delighted they dug out the win.

"The main thing tonight was the result," Higgins told BBC Sport NI

"In the first half, I thought we were really good, played how we wanted the game to go. We had dominance and had them on the back foot, but in the second half we got a big cagey and maybe lost our composure for parts.

"We've limited them to just two chances in the game and without being brilliant in the second half, we've dug out a 1-0 win.

"In the early part of the season, maybe we wouldn't have won it, but have shown a good side to us tonight."

The win was made a little sweeter for Coleraine fans following defeat by their rivals on 26 December.

Higgins paid tribute to the support for helping his side get over the line and also his players whose recent run of form has them within striking distance of the leaders.

"Winning at home to Ballymena was really important to us after Boxing Day," he continued.

"Our supporters were fantastic tonight and it shows the potential of this club. If we get that on a fortnightly basis when we are at home, it can be a really special place.

"That's out 12th home win in 15 which is some return and we've taken 16 (points) from our last 18 available, so the players deserve so much credit and we are sticking in there, so we will move on to Dungannon."

Image source, Inpho

The Irish Cup quarter-final between Glentoran and Larne will be shown live on BBC Sport NI.

The Glens will welcome the Irish Premiership leaders to the Oval on Friday, 6 March (19:45 GMT)

Twenty-three time winners Glentoran eased past amateur side Drumaness Mills 5-0 in their rearranged sixth-round tie on Tuesday to book their place in the last eight.

Larne, who have never won the Irish Cup, reached the quarter-final stage with a 2-0 win over Championship side Warrenpoint Town.

The game will be live-streamed on the BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport NI website and BBC Sport app.

Linfield manager David Healy says his side will not give up their defence of the Irish Premiership without a fight after Tuesday's 4-1 win at Dungannon Swifts.

Gael Bigirimana cancelled out Matthew Fitzpatrick's opener but Isaac Baird's double and Kyle McClean's goal gave Linfield a comfortable win.

Healy's side are third in the table and are eight points off leaders Larne with 10 matches remaining.

"It's unlikely, but not impossible. We have a lot of work to do but we've put ourselves in this position," Healy told BBC Sport NI.

"There are three other very good teams who have all invested incredibly well over the past number of months.

"Larne have responded when a lot of people probably thought they were going to go away after winning the league, and us last year.

"Credit to the teams and managers, they have put squads together who are not only capable of challenging but putting themselves in with a chance of success."

Despite a surprise Irish Cup exit at the hands of Championship frontrunners Limavady United, Linfield are now unbeaten in eight matches in the league.

Healy also had praise for midfielder Baird, who assisted Fitzpatrick's opener before his double.

"There has been a lot of questions and challenges over the last while, and the players have responded, but it's important that we go and back this up going forward.

"In the past few weeks Isaac has been given a more free role in attacking midfield. He scored a couple of scruffy goals, which are key and they break the defiance of the opposition."

Image source, Inpho

Ballymena United manager Oran Kearney said he "wouldn't like to play against" striker Igor Rutkowski after he netted twice during their 2-0 victory over Crusaders at the Ballymena Showgrounds.

After a goalless first half, Rutkowski scored two goals after the restart to seal the three crucial points for the home side.

The striker has made an instant impact since joining the side from Armagh City in January and has majorly helped Kearney's options in attack as the side aim to pull away from the relegation battle.

"Strikers are judged on goals and I think his overall play, I wouldn't like to play against him" Kearney told BBC Sport NI.

"His work rate, his honesty and how he plays on the ball and off the ball for the boys is fantastic and he deserves the goals.

"He has had a good start; there are parts of the game we are still improving on."

Now, the Sky Blues sit in tenth, three points clear of Crusaders who occupy the relegation play-off position.

"I think everything you would want to on a night like this," Kearney continued.

"Nights like this can be edgy and tough. It has been a tough run for both clubs. For us, it was about showing that good mentality.

"We got goals at a good time and we have maintained a clean sheet which is really important and I am just happy to get the three points."

Crusaders manager Declan Caddell said his side need to "wake up" after the result which means that the side are now without a win in their last six games.

"They didn't turn up, not good enough in terms of what is at stake during the match," Caddell told BBC Sport NI.

"They have to wake up going forward."

Jordan Jenkins scored four goals as Glentoran beat amateur league side Drumaness Mills 5-0 to set up an Irish Cup quarter-final with Larne.

In a tie rescheduled from 7 Febraury due to waterlogged pitch at the Oval, the Drumaness defence was finally unlocked in the 24th minute as Jenkins fired the Glens in front with a right-footed strike from just inside the box.

Jenkins grabbed his second of the evening in the 37th minute as he fired home from a central position on the edge of the box after a clever pull-back from Ben Gallagher.

The Glentoran striker completed his hat-trick just before the break as he bundled home after Josh Daniels flicked on a Danny Amos corner.

Gallagher and James Singleton both hit the woodwork for Glentoran, the latter of which was pushed onto the crossbar by goalkeeper Aaron Carberry.

The hosts hit the woodwork on multiple occasions early in the second half as they went in search of a fourth, and finally found it in the 79th minute, once again courtesy of Jenkins.

Jenkis' fourth in the 79th minute was arguably the standout goal of the night as he fired home with a precise curling effort from a tight angle into the top corner.

Cal Weatherup put the icing on the cake as he won and converted a penalty, and Drumaness had a late consolation goal ruled out for offside after Reece Doyle finished high into the net.

A quarter-final date with Larne awaits for the Glens, whose hopes of a first Irish Cup triumph since 2020 remain alive as they progress into the final eight.

"It was difficult so fair play to Drumaness, they put up a really good fight and had some good moments in the game," Glentoran assistant manager Tim McCann said.

"Their travelling support was absolutely fantastic so it was something to be proud of.

"All you can do is beat the team in front of you, we weren't taking this game lightly but you can't ask for much more than 5-0 and into the quarter-final."

Tuesday's Irish Premiership match between Portadown and Cliftonville at Shamrock Park has been abandoned due to floodlight failure.

It had been an entertaining start to the game and the away side led through Joe O'Toole's stunning strike.

However, in the 41st minute, the floodlights failed at Shamrock Park.

After discussions, the players were then taken off the pitch while they attempted to fix the issue but efforts proved unsuccessful.

This is the second time this campaign that the side have had issues with their floodlights after the second half of their Boxing Day derby against Glenavon was delayed by 15 minutes after an issue with the oil filter.

Last season, Glentoran's match against Larne at the Oval was postponed following floodlight failure early in the second half with this match replayed in full at a later date.

"This evening's Sports Direct Premiership fixture has been abandoned in the 41st minute following floodlight failure," a statement from Portadown read.

"We apologise for any inconvenience caused with further details released in due course."

Image source, Pacemaker Press

Bangor manager Lee Feeney said he thought the result of his side's 2-2 draw against Crusaders "was influenced by the referee".

The Seasiders led 2-0 thanks to goals from Harry Lynch and Ben Cushnie, but two goals in the second half from Stewart Nixon and Fraser Bryden meant the points were shared at Seaview.

Feeney was left bemused following the game and believed that his side should have been awarded a penalty in the final minutes of the game.

"Purely frustrated," Feeney told BBC Sport NI.

"We are 2-0 up and I think we deserved it. Crusaders played some great football, but we had a game plan.

"Ben Arthurs is clean through on the 92nd minute and the man comes straight through from behind and the referee doesn't give a penalty to us. Extremely frustrated and I think the result was influenced by the referee."

The result means that Bangor are now without a win in their last five Premiership matches, with the Crues without a victory in their last four games.

Crusaders manager Declan Caddell praised his players after the draw with his side remaining in 11th position on goal difference.

"We showed character today and that is the main thing for me," Caddell told BBC Sport NI.

"Too many times we have fallen behind and folded and the boys showed character, stood up and there was probably only one team pushing for the winner at the end.

"I am delighted for them. We had a tough few weeks there and this was a game we wanted to get as many points as we could from. We got one and we'll move on."

Image source, Pacemaker

Glentoran assistant coach Paddy McCourt hailed a "moment of magic" from Araron McEneff as his side came from behind to defeat Ballymena United at the Oval.

The Glens fell behind to Igor Rutkowski's strike, but were back on terms before the break as McEneff netted a penalty for his first goal in Glentoran colours since his arriving from Shamrock Rovers.

McEneff would complete the turnaround with a stunning strike after the break to secure a big three points for the east Belfast side, who narrowed the gap to the top following Larne's defeat at Portadown and McCourt was delighted with his side's battling qualities.

"We started well but went behind against the run of play," he told BBC Sport NI.

"The boys responded, as they have done all season and, thankfully, we got the penalty before half-time.

"Aaron slotted it away and that gave us a lift and Aaron produces a moment of magic (for the winner). The boys had to dig in the last six or seven minutes, but we did and it's a great three points."

McEneff was delighted to open his account after making the switch from the League of Ireland champions, Shamrock Rovers, in January and said the objective for all at Glentoran is to keep securing results to remain in the title fight.

"It's a big three points for us," he said.

"I thought we controlled the game really well, especially early on when the keeper pulled off some great saves.

"To go from one down to win 2-1 is a big day for us and personally, it's nice to get two goals. As soon as I got turned (for the second) there was only one thing on my mind and thankfully it went in."

Image source, Pacemaker

Larne manager Gary Haveron believes his side "caused a lot of our own problems" as they fell to a 2-1 defeat against Portadown at Shamrock Park.

Jack Scott opened the scoring for the hosts before Andy Ryan drew Larne level. Eamon Fyfe then put the Ports ahead with Chris Gallagher dismissed for the visitors after two yellow card offences.

While Haveron believes the red card early in the second half had an impact, he was left to rue early missed chances from the likes of Paul O'Neill and Ryan as Larne's 18-game unbeaten run in the Irish Premiership came to an end.

"We caused a lot of our own problems today. We should have been three up in the first 20 minutes, we had three one on ones with the goalkeeper and we haven't made him work enough," Haveron told BBC Sport NI.

"The sending off kills us, Cricky is adamant he won the ball. The referee has been massively influenced by five or six players around him to get him booked.

"What was a difficult second half got even more difficult when we were chasing the game. The pitch was bobbly and I thought we got no decisions today, but I'm not blaming the referee because we caused our own problems.

"We got our pocket picked twice, it's two breakaways when we were in control. We created chances and did not take them and it's come back to haunt us."

Ports boss Niall Currie praised his side's ability to hit Larne on the break as they ended a run of four straight league defeats.

"Wonderful day for the club and a great performance," he said.

"To a man, I thought the players were fantastic, their discipline and their counter-attack play."