'It was 100% the right call' - Haveron on abandonment

Floodlight failure at the Oval was caused by problems with a generator

Larne head coach Gary Haveron said the decision to abandon his side's game with Glentoran at the Oval due to floodlight failure was "100% the right call".

The game was called off early in the second half with the score at 0-0 due to problems with a generator used to power the floodlights.

And despite his frustration that the game could not continue, Haveron praised the Northern Ireland Football League [NIFL] for swiftly calling play to a halt.

"There were a few technical issues with the floodlights and I'm led to believe it was a problem with a generator that was overheating and leaking," Haveron told BBC Sport NI.

"I think one of those problems could be solved but not both of them, so NIFL stepped in and made the decision really quickly."

'It is very unfortunate'

Despite frustration that the game could not continue Haveron and Glentoran assistant manager Tim McCann both understood why the decision was taken swiftly.

Both sides will now meet again on Tuesday night in the County Antrim Shield final at Seaview, with Larne hoping to win the competition for a fifth successive season.

"If the lights weren't going to be able to come on and we weren't going to be able to finish the game, there was little point in playing on and having the game abandoned in the dying stages as we lost the light," Haveron added.

"We've both just agreed we'll see each other on Tuesday," McCann concurred.

"It doesn't suit either team, you would rather have the points on the board, but we look forward to Tuesday and both sets of players will have more in their legs now as they've only played half a game."

With the game to be rescheduled for a later date, Larne's fixture pile-up in the league continues, with the Inver side now holding six games in hand over leaders Linfield.

Refusing to look for excuses, Haveron says that Larne must "get on with it" as they look to get back into the race to retain the Gibson Cup.

"It is one [more] game we could have done without, but it is what it is. With player safety in mind and when there was no confidence, the generator wasn't going to start again it was 100% the right call," he added.

"It is very unfortunate but there is not much we can do about it. It's a headache for NIFL as much as it is for us, we need to find a date to squeeze this game back in but we need to deal with it when it comes back again."