Irish League Football

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Despite his team heading the Irish Premiership, Coleraine manager Ruaidhri Higgins says Linfield remain "100% the team to catch" as the sides prepare to lock horns for the second time in 11 days at Windsor Park on Saturday (17:30 GMT kick-off, live on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website).

The delayed first league meeting of the season between the teams at Ballycastle Road on 28 October saw the Bannsiders recover from a two-goal half-time deficit to draw 2-2.

While Linfield had 22 points to spare over nearest challengers Larne at the conclusion of the last campaign, it's Coleraine who currently top the table this term, with the Blues sitting fourth, 11 points behind the pacesetters with three games in hand over Ruaidhri Higgins' outfit.

"There's a third of the season gone and Linfield are rightly the favourites," argued Higgins before the blockbuster weekend meeting of the sides in Belfast.

"There is a lot of continuity there, they've had that team for a number of years now, whereas we're at the start of a journey so nothing's changed for me.

"As a manager it's my first competitive game at Windsor. Our players will love it, no doubt about it, they'll thrive in that environment, I can't wait."

'Building momentum'

The Coleraine boss says the proximity of the two top-flight fixtures between the clubs will mean they will be familiar with each other's strengths.

Goals from Matthew Fitzpatrick and Sam Roscoe had the Blues two goals to the good at the interval, with Matthew Shevlin and Charles Dunne finding the net in the second half.

"Both teams can take a lot from previous meeting. Certainly the first half highlighted their strengths but it also highlighted where we can get joy as well," added Higgins.

"They'll have learned a lot about us as well and that's the nature of it, when you play so close together.

"We know that they might change their system slightly – you'd expect both [Matthew] Fitzpatrick and [Kieran] Offord to play on Saturday, so we'll be prepared for that."

Coleraine have won four and drawn one of their past five league outings since losing to Bangor on 4 October and the former Derry City manager is hoping they can continue that unbeaten sequence as they continue to pursue a second Irish League title in their history.

"It would be brilliant for the group [to win at Windsor], for the whole club, for the supporters, for owners, board, players, staff, it would be brilliant.

"It helps with momentum. We've had a good start to the season and we're maybe further ahead than we might have expected.

"I think we're really enjoying our football, the players are enjoying playing together, we've got a bit of momentum behind us at the minute. Win at the weekend and that would really kick us on from a momentum point of view so that would be the big thing."

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Bangor boss Lee Feeney has been named October's manager of the month by the Northern Ireland Football Writers' Association.

Feeney guided Bangor to the top flight from the Championship and the Seasiders have had a strong start to the season.

The Irish Premiership's new boys defeated leaders Coleraine, Glenavon and Crusaders, and they also drew with Larne.

Bangor also knocked Lisburn Distillery out of the BetMcLean Cup, before their exit at the hands of Larne on Tuesday.

It is the first time Feeney has won the award and he follows in the footsteps of his cousin, Warren.

"It's an honour to win this trophy, although in my opinion this award should be called Management Team of the Month," said Feeney.

"I would not be here if it wasn't for our staff and the players have also been superb.

"October's success was a real team effort, although as I keep telling everyone, we are not safe yet.

"Our goal this year was to avoid relegation, and that hasn't changed."

Joel Bell
BBC Sport NI

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Cliftonville's record goal scorer Joe Gormley said he was glad to "get it over the line" after scoring his 300th goal for the club.

Gormley scored the Reds' first goal in their 5-2 comeback BetMcLean Cup win over Strabane Athletic on Tuesday.

The 35-year-old scored his first goal for Cliftonville back in 2011 against Ards and became the club's record goal scorer in 2018.

In Irish League terms, he's still a way off the all-time to scorer Jimmy Jones, who scored 647 goals across his 22-year career, but with another milestone reached he's looking to the next one.

"It feels great, the last few weeks it's probably been playing on my mind a wee bit," Gormley told BBC Sport NI after the win.

"I'm just glad to get it over the line and get it done with, so I'll pack that up and go onto the next one."

Manager Jim Magilton praised Gormley's achievement as "incredible" as well as acknowledging his future with the club.

"It's a magnificent achievement for a magnificent player," he said after the win.

"The hardest thing to do in this game is put the ball in the back of the net, and to do it 300 times is just remarkable.

''Joe still has so much more to give us, and he will. Tonight, he scored one and probably missed three or four, which is unlike Joe Gormley.

"It's a wonderful achievement and he deserves all the accolades.''

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Crusaders boss Declan Caddell said his side were "poor" in their 2-1 loss against Glentoran in the BetMcLean Cup.

Jonathan Russell opened the scoring for the Glens after 44 seconds with David Fisher adding a second before half-time for last year's beaten finalists.

Kurtis Forsythe scored a late consolation for the Crues, but Caddell said that goal did not tell the story of the game as it was "never close".

"Poor," is how Caddell summed up his team's performance at the Oval to BBC Sport NI as Crusaders fell to a fourth straight defeat in all competitions.

"The plan for this competition was we want to go out there and give it everything we had and when you concede after 44 seconds, the confidence just drains out of the players and that's probably how I see the game unfold.

"We never laid a glove on Glentoran, and we didn't have a shot until we scored the goal so really disappointing.

"We lost too many individual battles and we looked lethargic. Saturday [2-0 league loss against Dungannon Swifts] was a big disappointment, tonight was even worse."

Image source, Press Eye

Linfield boss David Healy said his side were "rubbish" in their 0-0 draw against Cliftonville on Sunday.

The Blues failed to trouble Reds stopper Peter Morrison, with Matthew Fitzpatrick firing wide and Sam Roscoe heading over their best two chances in a cagey game in north Belfast.

The champions have now drawn back-to-back league games and are 11 points behind leaders Coleraine with three games in hand, with Healy calling for his side to re-discover their quality in the final third.

"Rubbish," was Healy's initial assessment of the game.

"I think in terms of a spectacle, both teams were poor. I'm sure if I spoke to Jim (Magilton), he'd probably say the same. The disappointing thing is that when you look at the attacking quality supposedly on paper, we never showed it today.

"It's not always the forward players. Our attacking players include full-backs, midfielders, wide players. Collectively, we just didn't deliver. We work on a lot of things in training, but we didn't really see that come through today, which is frustrating."

Healy said that he had "no complaints about the effort" from his side but does have "concerns about decision-making in the final third".

"Effort and attitude were fine, but our quality in the attacking areas wasn't good enough. If we'd been a bit sharper from the middle third to the final third, we could have won the game," he added.

"A performance like that, on TV and in front of a good crowd, makes it plain to see that we lack that killer instinct, that cutting edge. That's why the game ended goalless for us."

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Cliftonville boss Jim Magilton said that he was "slightly disappointed we didn't get all three points" after his side were held to a 0-0 draw against Linfield.

The Reds dominated possession at Solitude and had the better chances with Eric McWoods squandering a good opportunity and substitute Joe Gormley rattling the crossbar in the last minute.

The draw leaves the Reds ninth in the table, but Magilton was pleased with his side's "competitive" performance as they recorded a second successive clean sheet in the league.

"There was a real determination to keep the ball out of our net today, especially in the closing stages when Linfield posed a real threat," he told BBC Sport NI.

"For all of us, we pride ourselves on clean sheets. It's the foundation of any really good side, so we need to keep that going.

"I'm delighted with their attitude; we kept going. We were probably unlucky in the end with Joe's (Gormley) opportunity, but all in all, I'm really pleased with the performance, but slightly disappointed we didn't get all three points."

Magilton praised teenage duo Joe Sheridan and Keevan Hawthorne, who have impressed this season, and both started and caught the eye again against the Blues.

"It's a big game, big crowd, and they handled the occasion very well. We trust them," Magilton added.

"They've been in and around the squad for some time; they've developed so quickly, and they deserve to play.

"Their attitude to everything we're doing is a real credit to them. Long may that continue.

"They're going to have ups and downs as young players do, but at the moment they're going really well."

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Coleraine boss Ruaidhri Higgins said his side "scored some great goals" in their 5-1 win over 10-man Glenavon.

Joel Cooper netted a hat-trick with Matthew Shevlin and Levi Ives also getting on the scoresheet for the Bannsiders.

And Higgins was pleased with the league leaders' ruthless streak in the second half after an underwhelming first half.

"We played some decent stuff in the first half, but we were a bit lethargic, we got a goal at a really good time," he told BBC Sport NI.

"We asked for more energy, tempo and intensity second half and I felt we came out with the bit between our teeth and scored some great goals.

"We said Tuesday [2-2 draw against Linfield] would be a good point if we did our business today and we did. It's been a good week."

Cooper, who moved into double digits for the season with his treble added that his side were "outstanding" in the second half of the big win.

"It's pleasing [to score three] , the result is more important but to score a hat-trick is nice," he explained.

"I've got two goals in a few games this season and haven't got the third so it's nice. The boys were outstanding and thoroughly deserved the three points."

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Ballymena United boss Jim Ervin was left to rue the concession of "cheap goals" as his side lost 2-0 to Larne at the Showgrounds.

The visitors dominated the first half and deservedly led through goals from Paul O'Neill and Conor McKendry.

Those two strikes proved enough to condemn Ballymena to a fourth straight league loss and Ervin voiced his displeasure at the manner of the goals conceded.

"Very poor first half, cheap goals again. I sound like a broken record, and the players know it themselves. The goals we're conceding are just so cheap," he told BBC Sport NI.

"We don't close down dangerous players in the box, we don't stop the cross, we just back off and back off. That's not what we've set out to do, so it's extremely frustrating.

Second half, we changed our shape and were a wee bit better, but when you're chasing two goals, it's always difficult. I was pleased with the second half to a degree, but the first half was shocking."

Ervin added he was struggling to put his finger on what is causing his side to leak so many goals.

"We've changed personnel because that's the first thing you look at. You change it, maybe get away with it for a game or two, and then it starts to creep back in," he continued.

"We've worked all week in training, and everyone's on the money there - fighting for it, blocking crosses, heading and tackling everything in the box, but for whatever reason, when they go onto the pitch, they're scared.

"That's probably the only way I can describe it. In training, they understand their jobs and do them well, but maybe we just give too much respect to our opposition."

Image source, Press Eye

Larne boss Gary Haveron said his side were "very professional in our approach" as they beat Ballymena United 2-0 at the Showgrounds.

First-half goals from Paul O'Neill and Conor McKendry secured the win for the Inver outfit, who are third in the table.

And Haveron believes their first-half display was the perfect response following last weekend's disappointing 1-1 draw against Bangor.

"When you go away from home, it's brilliant to get the clean sheet and the two goals were absolutely fantastic," he told BBC Sport NI.

"The only disappointing thing is we haven't built on that, and we should've had the game dead and buried at half-time, such was our dominance, but delighted with a clean sheet at an awkward place and a difficult pitch, but I thought we were deserving of three points.

"We were disappointed with the Bangor result. We had 70% possession and huffed and puffed but didn't put the ball in the back of the net, so we were disappointed with that because it felt like two points dropped.

"We had to maximise the opportunity today. We were very professional in our approach, dominated the first 10-15 mins and set the tone for the rest of the game."

Image source, Pacemaker Press

Bangor manager Lee Feeney said "neither team had control of the game" during their 1-0 loss against Carrick Rangers at Clandeboye Park.

Danny Gibson netted in stoppage-time to seal the three points in dramatic fashion for Carrick after the home side's Oisin Devlin was sent off with just over 10 minutes to go.

The result puts to an end the Seasiders' run of five games without defeat.

"I felt neither team had control of the game and it was a scrappy affair," Feeney told BBC Sport NI.

"It was two teams battling and that's probably down to their qualities, but I don't think either side ever really had a grip on things.

"It was always going to be a tight one, and if there was going to be a goal, it was likely to be just the one. Unfortunately, Carrick got it."

During the match, both sides had chances with Jay Boyd denied by the woodwork and Tiarnan Mulvenna's strike also close to giving Feeney's side the lead.

However, the turning point proved to be Devlin's dismissal after a late challenge on Gibson with the Carrick striker going on to score the winner in the 93rd minute.

"It was a bad way to lose a game, but we've bottled it up, we'll take it on the chin and move on," Feeney continued.

"At first view, I definitely didn't think it was a red card.

"I thought there were also a lot of other moments in that game that could have gone our way."

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Portadown manager Niall Currie said that he is "disappointed with the goals" that his side conceded during their 2-1 defeat against Glentoran at the Oval.

Eamon Fyfe's strike on 61 minutes cancelled out Pat Hoban's penalty in the first half.

However, Hoban would net just nine minutes after the Portadown leveller to seal the three points for the east Belfast side.

"We made two mistakes tonight and that is the difference. We came tonight and gave a fantastic account of ourselves," Currie told BBC Sport NI.

"I have told them I am hugely disappointed with the manor of the goals, but the performance was superb tonight to a man.

"It is small margins. We have some big hitters missing, but the players who played tonight were absolutely brilliant."

Portadown sit ninth in the table and have won two of their last five games.

Despite winning being the 2-0 victors against defending champions Linfield earlier in the month, Currie admitted that the recent run of fixtures has been "difficult" for his side.

"I think when you get Linfield, Coleraine, Glentoran and Larne, it is difficult.

"I don't think the players confidence will be impacted by this result, particularly not from me."

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Glentoran manager Declan Devine said striker Pat Hoban is "the ultimate professional" after his double sealed a 2-1 win over Portadown at the Oval.

Hoban's penalty had given the home side the lead in the first half, but Eamon Fyfe levelled the game just after the hour mark.

The former Premier Division forward then scored again in the 70th minute to keep Glentoran's unbeaten start to the season at home intact.

"Hoban's levels which he brings on a daily basis, he doesn't just turn up and perform like that, he is the ultimate professional," Devine told BBC Sport NI.

"Every young player in our changing room should be looking at him and seeing what it takes to be a successful professional player.

"We are very fortunate to have him, and I think there is more to come."

Glentoran are also the only team to have scored in all of their league fixtures so far with Hoban's double meaning he has scored five goals this season.

The Glens had to survive a spell of pressure at the end of the match with manager Devine pleased with his side's all-round performance.

"We showed another side to us which is important," Devine continued.

"We had to fight, scrap and do the ugly stuff well and when you have players at the top of the pitch like Hoban, you always have a chance.

"I am really delighted with the application of the players."