Larne beat Cliftonville 2-0 on Saturday to move six points clear at the top of the Irish Premiership as nearest challengers Glentoran were held to a 1-1 draw by Linfield.
Goals from Matty Lusty and Andy Ryan kept the Invermen on course for a third league title in four years while at the Oval Matt Yates put the Blues ahead, with Aaron McEneff levelling from the penalty spot.
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Both sides have four matches still to play before the conclusion of the campaign.
Third-placed Coleraine sit two points behind the Glens as they chase the runner-up finish which would guarantee qualification European qualification after they defeated Dungannon Swifts 2-1 at Stangmore Park.
Kobie Moore gave the hosts the lead but Joel Cooper and Mark Coyle struck to ensure victory for the Bannsiders in their first match after the split.
In the bottom half, Paul Heatley scored twice as Carrick Rangers inflicted a thumping 6-1 win on Crusaders, whose bid to avoid relegation to the second tier suffered a blow.
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Larne secure crucial home win
Larne broke on the counter-attack early on at Inver Park with Andy Ryan crossing from the right-hand channel into the path of Matty Lusty but he opted to take the effort first time and put it well wide.
Almost straight away, Cliftonville spurned a glorious opening as a long clearance put Brian Healy in behind the Larne defence but, under pressure from Matt Ridley, the striker blazed over.
Ryan and Lusty combined again for Larne but the latter’s effort lacked power, allowing Reds keeper PJ Morrison to dive to his right to palm the ball away.
The home side eventually went in front on 27 minutes when Aaron Donnelly’s pass in to Sean Graham in the left hand channel saw the Larne player get to the ball ahead of keeper Morrison before squaring for Lusty to drill a low shot into the unguarded net despite Jonny Addis’ efforts to block the shot.
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Cliftonville almost levelled three minutes into the second period when Larne failed to deal with a high ball into the penalty area and the ball dropped for Liam McStravick, whose fierce strike cannoned off the crossbar.
As Cliftonville pressed for an equaliser, Ryan Curran’s snap-shot brought a smart reflex save from Rohan Ferguson while at the other end, Ryan’s point-blank header was superbly diverted over by Morrison.
The home side wrapped up the points with four minutes left when Jordan McEneff’s corner was flicked on to the back post by Ryan Nolan where Ryan squeezed home a header with referee Mark Dillon adjudging that the ball had crossed the line before Morrison could claw it away.
Glens drop points against derby rivals
Big Two spoils were shared at the Oval as Linfield put a huge dent in Glentoran’s hopes of a first Gibson Cup success since 2009.
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Yates fired David Healy’s side in front eight minutes before half-time before McEneff equalised from the spot 15 minutes after the restart.
It was the second time in a week that Declan Devine’s side dropped crucial home points, the east Belfast outfit having also been held to a 1-1 draw by Coleraine at the Oval seven days previously.
In a fairly even half of football, both Ross Clarke and Matthew Fitzpatrick missed gilt-edged opportunities at either end before the deadlock was eventually broken by the visitors.
Fitzpatrick’s initial strike was blocked by Daniel Larmour, with the ball deflecting into the path of Yates who took a touch before curling a precise effort into the bottom right-hand corner beyond the outstretched arm of Andrew Mills.
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The Glens were gifted the opportunity of an equaliser 12 minutes after the restart as Larmour was brought down by a lazy challenge from Isaac Baird, with McEneff making no mistake from the spot to equalise.
Both sides huffed and puffed late on, particularly the Glens, but neither side was able to find a winner.
Bannsiders seal comeback win over Swifts
At Ballycastle Road, Kobei Moore opened the scoring for the home side but Joel Cooper levelled midway through the first half before Mark Coyle sealed the points with a first goal for the Bannsiders just after half-time.
Moore opened the scoring for the hosts with less than two minutes on the clock.
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Tiernan Kelly’s incisive pass split a hesitant Coleraine defence and the on-loan Larne striker raced clear of Mark Connolly and Charles Dunne before angling a low left foot drive past Ryan Schofield and into the far corner of the net.
He could have added a second minutes later but was denied by the Coleraine keeper while, at the other end, Alex Henderson held on to a long range Cooper shot at the second attempt.
Cooper wasn’t to be denied, however, and he levelled for the visitors just before the half hour.
Jamie Glackin and Lyndon Kane combined down the right hand side and when the Dungannon goalkeeper parried away Kane’s cross there was Coleraine’s leading scorer to control the ball before blasting a volley into the unguarded net for his 18th league goal of the season.
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The visitors hit the front five minutes after half-time thanks to Coyle, who signed from Shelbourne in January.
The Swifts defence failed to deal with a Will Patching corner and when the ball was recycled in the direction of the Bannsiders midfielder he took a touch before rifling an unstoppable shot into the roof of the net past a helpless Henderson.
Schofield produced another important save to deny Moore just after the hour mark after the big striker had wormed his way past a number of defenders but the keeper was quickly out to smother his effort.
Cooper looked to have scored his second of the afternoon in the closing minutes but inexplicably missed the target one on one with the keeper.
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