Coleraine ended Ballymena United's winning run with a 1-0 victory in the Irish Premiership.

Dungannon Swifts continued their superb start to the season with a 2-0 win over Mid-Ulster rivals Portadown at Shamrock Park.

Benji Magee scored a second-half equaliser as reigning champions Larne hit back to draw 1-1 with Crusaders.

Jay Donnelly missed an injury-time penalty as Glentoran were held to a 1-1 draw by Carrick Rangers.

Cliftonville are without a win in five league matches after to a goalless draw with 10-man Glenavon.

After Linfield's 3-1 win over Loughgall on Friday, David Healy's side are two points clear of Ballymena at the top of the table, while Dungannon are just one point behind the Sky Blues.

Ballymena United missed out on the opportunity to return to the top of the table when their long winning run came to an end, beaten 1-0 by derby rivals Coleraine in a pulsating game at the Showgrounds.

Rhyss Campbell was the man on target for the Bannsiders, heading home the only goal of the game midway through the second half, to end a losing run of three games for the visitors.

Jim Ervin’s men remain in second place despite a first defeat since August while Dean Shiels’s side climb back into the top half of the table.

Both teams had chances in an entertaining but scoreless first half in front of a vocal crowd.

The home side ended the opening 45 minutes on the front foot and Coleraine goalkeeper Max Little was forced into two fine saves as half-time approached.

First, he dived full length to his right to turn away a Kym Nelson header from a corner and on the stroke of half-time scrambled across his goal to punch away a clever Josh Carson free-kick at his near post.

The importance of those saves was underlined just after the hour when the visitors broke the deadlock through Campbell.

The home defence struggled to cope with a ball into the heart of the penalty area and when Ciaron Harkin kept the play alive, Campbell nipped in to deftly flick his header past a helpless Sean O’Neill.

The home side huffed and puffed in the closing stages but Coleraine hung on for a rare clean sheet and three points.

At Inver Park, Magee came off the bench to net the equaliser as Larne and Crusaders finished 1-1.

The hosts probed and pressed in the first half, but didn't create anything clear-cut with free-kicks from Andy Ryan and Joe Thomson dealt with by Jonny Tuffey.

Crusaders defended well without making much of an impact at the other end as the opening period ended scoreless.

Sean Graham saw an effort flash wide nine minutes into the second period but on 55 minutes, Kieran Offord took advantage of a mistake from goalkeeper Rohan Ferguson to curl into the empty net from 30 yards.

Larne pushed for an equaliser without making much of an impact until the 75th-minute introduction of Magee and Matty Lusty who gave them the spark they needed. Magee was denied when getting on the end of a long ball but got his goal with 81 gone as he steered home from inside the box.

Lusty was just inches off the wrong side of the near post soon after. In added time, Andy Ryan was put through, but Tuffey spread himself to thwart and ensure it finished honours even

The home side went in front on 12 minutes as David Fisher collected the ball on the right hand corner of the penalty area.

He cut back inside and ran across the edge of the penalty area before firing a fierce strike into the top corner, helped by a slight deflection off the head of Carrick defender Luke McCullough.

Glentoran should have doubled their lead early in the second half when Paddy McClean’s close-range header from Daniel Amos’ corner was blocked and Frankie Hvid, at full stretch, fired the rebound over from virtually on the goal-line.

The home side came close on the hour mark when Fisher’s effort from an acute angle thumped off the angle of post and crossbar.

Carrick had a let-off when James Singleton’s header from an Amos corner slipped under the foot of Danny Gibson, who was defending on the goal-line, and appeared to cross the goal-line before being cleared but neither referee Steven Gregg nor his assistant awarded a goal.

That incident became all the more important on 79 minutes as Carrick equalised when Heatley stood up a cross to the back post which was nodded home by Gibson.

There was still time for more late drama as Glentoran missed an injury time penalty, awarded after referee Steven Gregg adjudged that Kurtis Forsythe, at full stretch, had blocked Daniel Amos’ cross with his hand.

After a lengthy delay, Donnelly, who earlier missed an effort from five yards, took the spot kick but Ross Glendinning dived to his left to save and earn Carrick a vital point.

After a goalless first half, Andy Mitchell broke the deadlock seven minutes after the restart when he capitalised on John McGovern's blistering run down the flank.

McGovern left Lee Chapman in his wake before delivering a pin-point low cross for the unmarked Mitchell, who tapped home into an unguarded net for his second of the campaign.

The hosts' victory was sealed in spectacular fashion 14 minutes from time. Alves, fouled by Steven McCullough on the edge of the area, picked himself up to curl an exquisite free-kick into the top corner which left Aaron McCarey rooted to the spot.

Earlier in the match, McGovern squandered a gilt-edged chance just after the half-hour mark as he fired straight at Aaron McCarey when clean through. Minutes later, Cahal McGinty's was next to be denied after McCarey expertly kept out the Dungannon defender.

McCarey's heroics continued throughout the opening period, with a crucial save before to deny Mitchell.

The best chances to break the deadlock before the half-time whistle at Solitude came in additional time when Michael Newberry headed Ronan Doherty's free-kick just wide before Jack Malone fired his effort from the edge of the box off target at the other end.

It was a livelier game after the restart with Doherty’s strike from range narrowly over the crossbar in the opening minutes.

David Odumosu then made his best save of the afternoon to stop Peter Campbell’s on target effort from giving the away side the lead.

On the 71st minute Rhys Marshall was given his marching orders after he received a second yellow card for a foul on Sean Stewart after being booked in the first half for a shirt tug on Rory Hale.

In the closing stages of the game Ryan Markey's header looked like it was going to secure the three points for Cliftonville, but his header crashed off the post meaning the points were shared at Solitude.

Friday, 18 October

Loughgall 0-2 Linfield

Saturday, 19 October

Ballymena United 0-1 Coleraine

Cliftonville 0-0 Glenavon

Glentoran 1-1 Carrick Rangers

Dungannon Swifts 2-0 Portadown

Larne 1-1 Crusaders