Irish League Football

Image source, BBC Sport

Bangor boss Lee Feeney hailed his team's defensive display as they came from behind to edge bottom side Glenavon 2-1 at Mourneview Park.

Jack Malone put the Lurgan hosts in front before two first-half goals from Ben Arthurs clinched victory.

The victory was Bangor's first in seven league games and leaves them seventh in the table.

"That's a massive three points for us," said Feeney.

"We suffered that whole second half. We could not come to terms with the way they played - I thought they were fantastic after the break. We had to defend, and we hardly had the ball.

"They were magnificent, but at the same time, we were also magnificent in the way we defended. That's a massive win for us. Massive, massive win."

Feeney added that his team's mental strength was vital during their winless run.

"It does become a concern, but the thing is, we haven't been playing badly.

"We've lost games we felt we didn't deserve to lose and perhaps could have won a few, but we stuck to our tasks.

"The boys have a really good mentality, and we keep saying it. They always know we're going to turn the corner."

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Glentoran assistant manager Paddy McCourt says he was disappointed not to beat Cliftonville despite the Oval hosts battling back from two down to draw 2-2.

The Reds went in 2-0 in front at the break thanks to goals from Thomas Lavery and Joe Sheridan.

Glentoran hit back in the second half as David Fisher pulled one back before James Singleton netted the equaliser.

"We conceded two goals in the first half without playing that badly - I thought we were in control of the game for half an hour without creating a lot of chances," said McCourt.

"We got hit by conceding two really poor goals. The lads gave us a mountain to climb.

"We had a chat at half-time - we built a bit of momentum, the crowd got behind us and to be honest I'm disappointed we didn't get all three points."

Glentoran were without manager Declan Devine in the dugout against the Reds because of illness.

McCourt was much happier with the display in the second period.

"We played with a bit more intent and played more on the front foot and with more intensity.

"We're probably unlucky not to score four or five goals in the second half."

The result leaves the Glens eight points behind leaders Coleraine while the Reds sit sixth.

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Carrick Rangers manager Stephen Baxter says his side played "superbly well" despite being defeated 3-1 by Coleraine.

Adam Lecky's goal gave the away side the lead at the break with Carrick having numerous chances to give themselves a more comfortable advantage.

However, the Bannsiders registered three goals in the second half to seal the three points.

"Their keeper makes a worldie of a save [to deny Lecky] and otherwise it was 2-0 and we were going to coast home," Baxter told BBC Sport NI.

"We were well on top in this game and we played superbly well, our level of performance was stunning.

"We had Coleraine where we wanted them. The late goals have killed us, like they did at Windsor Park."

Carrick Rangers sit in eleventh position with 16 points and one point behind Crusaders in 10th.

However, their opponents Coleraine now move top of the table on goal difference.

"The results will show you that the top four are breaking away and if you're spending four or five times the money between the top six and the bottom six, you are always going to get that degree of split," Baxter continued.

"I never envy anyone around money, you get what you pay for and the pressure when you spend that money is you need to deliver.

"If Coleraine don't deliver a title, the pressure is on them and it's the same for Glentoran, Linfield and Larne and there can only be one winner."

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Coleraine manager Ruaidhri Higgins says his side showed "courage" during their 3-1 victory over Carrick Rangers at the Coleraine Showgrounds.

Adam Lecky's strike gave the away side the lead at the break, however, an own goal and efforts from Jamie McGonigle and Dean Jarvis completed Coleraine's comeback.

The result means the Bannsiders move top of the Irish Premiership table but Larne, in second, have played two less games.

"I had absolutely no doubts in my mind about what type of game it was going to be," Higgins told BBC Sport NI.

"I didn't go in with the same reaction as I did in the Larne game [at half-time], it was a different type of performance I thought we were energetic, but we lacked that final bit.

"In the second half we showed a lot of guts and courage and got it over the line."

Carrick Rangers had multiple chances to add to their tally in the first half and were denied by the woodwork.

Shortly after the restart, Newcastle United loanee Harris was called into action again and made a stretched save to deny Lecky's strike from a Joe Crowe free-kick with Higgins adding the stop was "world class".

"I think it was the moment that won us the game," Higgins continued.

"In my opinion, the game turned at that moment.

"It is genuinely a world class save and an 18-year-old in his first venture into senior football and it's a moment that, in my opinion, won us the game as we went from strength to strength from then on."

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Linfield manager David Healy admitted he was "frustrated" his side could not find a winner at Inver Park on Friday, but has no complaints with the level of performance in the 0-0 draw at Larne.

The Blues looked close to making the breakthrough late in the first half but Larne goalkeeper Rohan Ferguson did well to divert a Matthew Fitzpatrick header away from danger and then recovered to save the follow-up from Callumn Morrison.

Kyle McClean also spurned a decent chance from a back-post header and while Linfield managed to apply pressure in the second period, the goal would not come.

"I thought our level of performance was good and we should have taken the lead in the first half," Healy relfected, when speaking to BBC Sport NI.

"There wasn't much in the second half but I'm disappointed we didn't land on some of our set plays, which was frustrating as some of the balls were into areas they should have been.

"We couldn't execute the final ball to get a clear-cut shot, but Larne are top of the league for a reason. Tonight we probably cancelled each other out."

The draw moves Linfield up to third in the standings, but they still trail leaders Larne by seven points with a game in hand.

Healy felt the result at Inver Park will act as a spur to the other contenders who will have the opportunity to narrow the gap on Saturday.

"I'm frustrated, but Larne are top, seven clear of us and a few clear of some of the others," he continued.

"The other teams will be pleased we cancelled each other out as it gives them an opportunity to go and gain a couple of points."

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Larne manager Gary Haveron felt his side "needed to be better with the ball" as they were forced to settle for a scoreless draw against Linfield on Friday.

The league-leaders were under a bit of pressure late in the first half with Rohan Ferguson making a smart stop from Callumn Morrison, while Linfield's Kyle McClean probably should have done better with a back-post header.

Haveron's side had their moments too with Matt Ridley denied by Chris Johns late on, but it would finish honours even with the Larne boss taking the positives from his team's defensive display.

"I was a bit disappointed with our first half performance," Haveron told BBC Sport NI.

"For the first 20 minutes, I thought we looked really good and were the bigger threat, but then we started going long and stringing the game out.

"They missed a chance before half-time with [Kyle] McClean's header, but other than that I don't remember that many chances in the game.

"I'm happy with how we defended, but we needed to be better with the ball, especially in the first half."

The draw means Larne move three clear at the top with nearest challengers Coleraine hosting Carrick Rangers on Saturday [15:00 GMT].

Larne do have a game in hand on the Bannsiders, but Haveron is not getting carried away at this stage of the campaign.

"Win, lose or draw, the league was never going to be decided tonight," he added.

"The only winners tonight is the other teams as we've taken points off each other but that's to be expected as they are tight games and there's never going to be a landslide win one way or the other. We'll take a point and move on to next week."

Image source, Inpho

Larne midfielder Mark Randall has been named November's player of the month by the Northern Ireland Football Writers' Association.

Randall, 36, scored three goals in the month as Larne won all of their league games to move to the top of the Irish Premiership table.

The former Arsenal player scored two free-kicks in one match against Portadown and also netted against Dungannon Swifts.

Randall won the award ahead of Cliftonville's Jack Keaney, who was second, and Crusaders striker Fraser Bryden.

Larne face Linfield in the Irish Premiership on Friday, with the game live on BBC iPlayer and on the BBC Sport website and app (19:45 GMT).

"I'm not sure I deserve to win this award, I just scored three lucky free-kicks," said Randall.

"November was a great month for us as a team. I'm just happy that I was able to play regularly and contribute a few goals. The most important thing is that we keep up this current run of form in the league.

"December will be a tricky month for us, starting with the Linfield game on Friday night."

Watch highlights as Glentoran beat holders Cliftonville 5-4 in a penalty shootout in the BetMcLean Cup quarter-final.

The Glens will now host Coleraine in the semi-finals of the competition.

You can find a summary of all of tonight's action here

Don't forget to follow all of our Irish Premiership coverage on our dedicated Irish League Football page

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Larne midfielder Leroy Millar has signed a new three-year deal at the club with the option of a further year.

The 30-year-old arrived from Ballymena United in 2022 and has helped the Inver Reds win back-to-back Irish Premiership titles and two County Antrim Shields during his time at the club.

Millar made a long-awaited return from injury last month after 18 months out with a groin problem and scored the opener in Larne's 2-1 win over Coleraine which moved them top of the table.

He will now remain at Inver Park until at least the end of the 2028-29 season and becomes the fourth player to sign a new deal with Gary Haveron's side within the space of a week.

Fellow midfielder Chris Gallagher signed an extension on Monday until the end of the 2028-29 season with the option of a further year too.

Last week, Mark Randall put pen to paper on a new one-year deal until the end of the 2026-27 season which also has the option to extend for a further year.

Defender Matt Ridley, who arrived from Blyth Spartans in the summer, signed a fresh two-year deal with the option of a further year, keeping him at the club until at least the end of the 2027-28 campaign.