Kieran Offord has returned to St Mirren after a successful loan spell with Irish Premiership side Crusaders.

The 20-year-old striker joined the Crues last summer and scored 10 goals in 21 games for the Seaview team.

Offord moved on a season-long loan but St Mirren have activated a recall option on the forward.

"The club would like to express our gratitude to Kieran for his contributions during his time with us," said Crusaders on Monday.

"His efforts on and off the pitch have been greatly appreciated, and we wish him all the very best for the remainder of the season."

Image source, Press Eye

Right, the teams are on the pitch so it's nearly time to go!

Who do you think will win the first piece of silverware of 2025?

Give this post a thumbs up if you think it'll be Larne and react the other way if you think it'll be Declan Devine's side.

The teams met just three days ago but the Oval game ended prematurely in the 54th minute when the floodlights failed at the east Belfast stadium.

The Glens had the first chance of the game when Danny Amos sent a curling free-kick into the box for Kodi Lyons-Foster, who couldn't steer the ball home from close range.

A crucial tackle from right-back Jonny Russell then denied Joe Thomson's effort after a Glentoran mistake in midfield had given Conor McKendry time and space down the right wing to play the ball back for the onrushing Thomson.

The home side then had two huge chances in first half additional time with James Singleton firing home a clever pass from the edge of the box by Jay Donnelly, but the linesman's flag shot up as the midfielder was offside.

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Having already made waves with their exploits in the Uefa Conference League this season, Larne are out to make more history this evening as they seek to become the first team to win the County Antrim Shield for a fifth season in succession.

The distinctive piece of silverware has been a fixture of the Inver Park trophy cabinet since December 2020.

Indeed, it has been 1,925 days since the club's last defeat in the competition, a 3-2 quarter-final reverse against this year's final opponents Glentoran in October 2019.

While Linfield have also won the regional competition four times in a row - doing so between 1932 and '35 and then again from 1981-84 - manager Gary Haveron says a new record "would be a heck of an achievement".

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Glentoran boss Declan Devine says his side are hungry to bring success back to the club ahead of tonight's Co Antrim Shield final.

The Glens are bidding to win silverware for the first time since securing the Irish Cup five years ago.

"It would be incredible [to win the Co Antrim Shield] and would be testimony to the players for the hard work they've been putting in," said Devine.

"We're really hungry to bring success back to Glentoran - we have to give everything of ourselves physically, technically and tactically on the night. It has the makings of a cracking game."

Larne manager Gary Haveron is relishing the chance to make history as the first team to win the Co Antrim Shield five seasons on the trot.

"We're always determined to keep trophies in the cabinet - the County Antrim Shield has been good to us.

"I think it's always the aim to be the first side it win it five years in a row, that would be a milestone for us as a football club."

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Larne defeated Glentoran 2-1 at a wet and windy Seaview on Tuesday night to collect the County Antrim Shield for a fourth consecutive season.

Gary Haveron makes two changes to the side from Saturday's game, which was abandoned due to floodlight failure, with Cricky Gallagher and Andy Ryan in for Joe Thomson and Benji Magee, who are both among the substitutes.

There are also two alterations to the Glentoran starting XI who started against tonight's opponents on Saturday with Andrew Mills replacing Daniel Gyollai between the posts and Jordan Jenkins coming in for Jay Donnelly up front.

Larne: Ferguson, Ives, McKendry, Randall, Graham, Bolger, Nolan, Cosgrove, Sloan, Gallagher, Ryan.

Subs: Besant, Thomson, Magee, McEneff, Panayiotou, Bayode, Wallace.

Glentoran: Mills, Lyons-Foster, Hvid, Sule, Palmer, Fisher, Amos, Pattison, Singleton, Russell, Jenkins.

Subs: Gyollai, Connolly, Aouachria, Murphy, Lindsay, Douglas, Thorndike.

Image source, BBC Sport

It could be an historic night at Seaview as Larne chase a County Antrim Shield record in the decider against Glentoran.

The Premiership champions are aiming to become the first team to win the competition for a fifth straight year.

It's also a repeat of last season's final with the Glens determined to avenge the 2-1 defeat at the same venue.

Declan Devine's side go into the final in superb form, picking up eight wins and two draws in their last 10 outings.

The east Belfast club are out to pick up silverware for the first time since their Irish Cup success five years ago.

It promises to be a tight affair - the teams met at the Oval on Saturday with the match goalless when play was abandoned early in the second half because of floodlight failure.

It all adds up to two sides with so much for play for and we'll bring it all to you with a live stream of the game along with text commentary and in-play clips.

Thanks for joining us.

Image source, Press Eye