Dungannon Swifts boss Rodney McAree says his side must produce a response to their poor start to the campaign in their game against Bangor on Saturday.

The Swifts are rooted to the foot of the table having failed to pick up a point from their four games so far.

And McAree, who led Dungannon to a fourth-place finish and the Irish Cup last season, is desperate for his players to get their season up and running away to promoted Bangor.

"We need a response; we have to get ourselves going as quickly as possible," he told BBC Sport NI.

"We need to get our season started. We can't just think it is going to happen, we need to make it happen and at the minute we look like we're a little bit off it.

"We need the players to show they want to be here and play for this club and want to turn things around for us."

Image source, Presseye

Dungannon Swifts bolster their striking options before their trip to Bangor with the signing of former Derry City and Glentoran frontman Junior Ogedi-Uzokwe.

The forward is not available for today's meeting with the Seasiders however.

Image source, Dunganon Swifts

Portadown boss Niall Currie said striker Rhys Annett is "one of the best finishers" he has managed as the on-loan forward marked his first start with a goal.

Annett, who made the temporary switch to Shamrock Park from Linfield, netted the opener in the Ports' 2-1 win against Crusaders which helped the club bounce back from back-to-back losses.

And Currie believes the frontman has all the attributes to score plenty more goals this season.

"We had him in a front two as we know that is his best position, he can play left or right or behind a striker but ultimately he's fantastic with a partner beside him," Currie told BBC Sport NI.

"He's one of the best finishers I have coached. I gave him his Championship debut as a 16-year-old at Dundela so I know all about him. He seems to be a fan favourite already."

Image source, Pacemaker

Crusaders boss Declan Caddell said his side "shot themselves in the foot" in their 2-1 defeat by Portadown at Shamrock Park.

Jordan Forsythe's well-taken goal cancelled out Rhys Annett's opener for the Ports, but substitute Eamon Fyfe struck the winner from the edge of the box.

The defeat is a third in four games for the Crues and Caddell continued to lament his side's defensive frailties.

"I'm really disappointed, I thought we shaded the first half, we went down 1-0 after a really poor goal, second half got into the game with a really well-worked goal then we shot ourselves in the foot it was a schoolboy goal [to give away]," he told BBC Sport NI.

"I have told the players all week we have been conceding too many goals, you can't make mistakes or teams will punish you and we've made two tonight and we've been punished.

"It is frustrating as we were the team in the ascendancy looking to get the second goal. One long ball up the pitch changes the game, and it is not acceptable you can't afford to concede goals like that, that is the bottom line. Teams don't have to work hard to score goals against us."

Image source, Pacemaker

Watch highlights as Portadown defeat Crusaders 2-1 in Friday night's Irish Premiership game at Shamrock Park.

Ballymena United manager Jim Ervin said "a lack of cutting edge" and a couple of defensive errors cost his side dearly in their 2-0 loss to Larne in Friday's Irish Premiership match at Inver Park.

The Braidmen had won their first three league games without conceding a goal but that sequence came to an end as goals from Benji Magee and Dan Bent delivered three points for the hosts in the Shane's Hill derby under the lights.

"Disappointed with the result but performance wise bar a 15-minute spell in the first half I thought it was good," summed up the Ballymena boss after the game.

"I thought we actually started the game very brightly and then we got hit with a sucker punch, a ball down the side of us and we haven't dealt with it.

"If you make mistakes against the top sides in this league you get punished. That's why they are where they are. You can't make mistakes and if you do make mistakes they have to be at the top end of the pitch.

"We've made two mistakes and they brought two goals and ultimately that's the difference."

Read more of Ballymena manager Jim Ervin's post-match thoughts here.

Image source, Presseye

Larne interim manager Gary Haveron says he was "excited" by his side's performance in their 2-0 Irish Premiership win over Ballymena United at Inver Park on Friday night.

An early goal from Benji Magee and a late strike from Dan Bent made it three games unbeaten under Haveron since Nathan Rooney's sudden departure from the club on 18 August.

The Invermen drew 1-1 at Cliftonville in the interim boss's first game at the helm and then saw off Portadown 4-0 at home.

Read more here

Image source, Inpho

Watch highlights of Friday night's Premiership game at Inver Park as goals from Benji Magee and Dan Bent clinch a 2-0 win for Larne over Ballymena United.

Here's a reminder of this afternoon's three matches in the Irish Premiership.

Image source, BBC Sport

Good afternoon and welcome to our live coverage of this afternoon's three fixtures in the Irish Premiership.

Headline match of the day based on the two sides' start to the season is at the Oval where both hosts Glentoran and visitors Carrick Rangers put their 100% starts to the campaign on the line.

The Glens have won each of their first four games without conceding a goal to sit top of the table, while Carrick Rangers have started the new term in fine style with three wins from three.

In contrast, both Cliftonville and Glenavon are chasing their first victories of the season when they meet at Solitude. The Reds have picked up just two points from four while the Lurgan Blues have yet to open their account after going down to four defeats.

In the day's other game, Bangor will aim for a second home win of the campaign as they entertain a Dungannon Swifts outfit who have yet to collect a point and have still to score a goal from open play.

We'll have our usual offering of live audio courtesy of Radio Ulster's Sportsound programme, plus text updates and in-play clips from all three fixtures throughout the afternoon, then a report, match highlights, reaction and analysis.

We have you covered, you won't miss a thing!