Mark Strange
BBC Sport NI contributor

Larne rescue late draw against Cliftonville at Inver Park

Nathan Rooney's first game in charge of Larne ended in a 1-1 draw with Cliftonville at Inver Park on Sunday.

Ryan Nolan popped up with an equaliser two minutes from time by heading in to earned Larne a point.

Cliftonville took a deserved lead after 29 minutes as Joe Gormley rifled past Rohan Ferguson and into the net from a tight angle.

The Reds wasted a series of openings to extend their lead and had Jonny Addis sent-off for two yellow cards with just seconds left.

The result sees second-placed Cliftonville move seven points behind leaders Linfield while Larne remain ninth.

Rooney reflects on first game in charge of Larne

We had to wait until after the quarter hour mark for the first half-chance. Taylor Steven contorted his body to meet a corner but his effort drifted over.

Addis almost set up a very Gormley-esque goal when the veteran hitman cushioned his long ball but scuffed his attempted chip.

However, that was merely a foreboding for what was to come as a quickly-taken free-kick by Ronan Doherty put Gormley in behind and he finished with aplomb from a narrow angle.

Larne struggled to get anything going in the first half and were lucky not to go further behind just before the break when Rory hale curled an effort just wide.

The second half was much the same as the visitors looked comfortable and quick-fire headers from hale and Luke Conlan almost extended their lead again.

It took until the 70th minute for the hosts to trouble the away goal but an Odhran Casey block denied Joe Thomson before Benji Magee couldn't stretch quite enough to reach Paul O'Neill's cutback.

With the clock ticking down and the home support's frustrations growing, an equaliser came on 88 minutes. Two subs combined as Conor McKendry's free-kick to the back post was nodded down by Ryan Nolan and it squeezed through David Odumosu's legs and in.

There was still time for late drama as Jonny Addis picked up two quickfire bookings in stoppage time as did a Cliftonville coach but the visitors ended up holding on for a draw on the road.

Both sides are on the road to Championship opposition in League Cup action on Wednesday night with Larne at Annagh United and Cliftonville at Armagh City

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