Irish League Football

Image source, Presseye

Jay Donnelly has been ruled out of Glentoran's derby against Linfield on Boxing Day after being handed a two-match suspension for a provocative gesture during the last 'Big Two' meeting between the sides on 3 December.

Donnelly will also miss Saturday's game against Cliftonville at Solitude.

The striker's ban began on 16 December so he would have been scheduled to sit out the BetMcLean Cup quarter-final against Ballymena United on Tuesday night but the postponement of that fixture means he will miss the 26 December encounter at the Oval.

In addition to Donnelly's suspension, the Glens were fined £250 in relation to the incident during their 1-0 victory over the Blues in their BetMcLean Cup last-16 game at Windsor Park.

Donnelly's sanction was imposed in light of Section 17.1 of the Irish Football Association's Disciplinary Code, namely: "A player or official who provokes the general public during a match will be sanctioned with a minimum 2 match standard suspension and a minimum fine of £250 which will be imposed on their club."

Meanwhile Linfield received a £1,000 fine for a breach of Article 28.2 (a) in relation to spectator misconduct during the fixture.

A separate notice of complaint was also issued in respect of the article which prohibits "the invasion or attempted invasion of the field of play" during the same match against Glentoran on 3 December, with a warning issued for that incident.

Glentoran were also handed a £250 fine following the 'Big Two' derby on Friday 22 November at the Oval for the use of flares or fireworks.

Image source, Presseye

Glenavon manager Paddy McLaughlin says he was "delighted with the response of his players" after they recovered from a 1-0 deficit to beat Crusaders 3-1 in Tuesday's Irish Premiership match at Mourneview Park.

Philip Lowry scored to give Crusaders the lead but Michael O'Connor levelled before the interval, before Peter Campbell's goal and a Jordan Forsythe own goal gave the Lurgan Blues a valuable three points.

"Delighted to get points on the board, especially against a good side like Crusaders," McLaughlin told BBC Sport NI.

"When you go a goal down sometimes you can go under against a side like that. But delighted with our response, getting a goal just before half-time gave us confidence and put us on the front foot again.

"When we did come out again we got into gear fairly quickly. So full credit to our boys, they were excellent, especially in the second half."

McLaughlin praised his side's efforts in defence and attack, especially when conditions were more favourable in the second 45 minutes.

"The conditions probably spoiled the game as a football match in the first half but the second half, with the wind at our backs, we moved the ball a lot quicker and created chances. Every time we went forward we almost scored.

"Our workrate off the ball was fantastic. Our shape and our organisation was really, really good.

"We didn't give them many chances outside of the goal so we have to defend like that, we have to work as hard as that.

"The way we attacked in the second half was excellent. You have to bring that to the table every game."

Image source, Presseye

Crusaders manager Declan Caddell has branded his side's second-half performance in their 3-1 defeat by Glenavon on Tuesday night "totally unacceptable".

Philip Lowry opened the scoring for the Crues but Michael O'Connor equalised at Mourneview Park.

Peter Campbell put the Lurgan Blues in front before Jordan Forsythe's own goal secured a first league win under manager Paddy McLaughlin.

"I thought first half the conditions were difficult for both teams and it was quite scrappy," Caddell told BBC Sport NI.

"The second half was totally unacceptable for ourselves - bad decision-making in major points of the game, poor goals to concede - two counter-attacks.

"That's crept into us lately, which is very uncharacteristic of us in terms of what this club is built on - hard work, dedication and putting your body on the line. That was missing a lot tonight."

Caddell lamented the lack of influence of some of his more experienced players and a second defeat in a row by the same scoreline, his charges having gone down to Glentoran on Friday.

"We came into the game with 10 players out and it was a patch-up job but we had enough experience on the pitch to deal with the game and some of the senior players let down.

"That's two 3-1 defeats in a row and that's hard to take."

Image source, Presseye

Dungannon Swifts manager Rodney McAree says his team was "hugely frustrated" not to pick up any points from Tuesday's 1-0 Premiership defeat by Linfield.

Joel Cooper's second-half goal moved David Healy's side 11 points clear of second-placed Swifts at the summit of the league table.

"There's a massive amount of disappointment in the changing room and I think that's positive. We're hugely frustrated we didn't get something out of the game," said McAree.

"We felt as if our performance was good. We didn't ask Linfield enough questions in the first half but we did better in the second half, we caused a few more problems.

"We created a few opportunities and could have scored a goal and got a result."

The Swifts boss believes his side could have defended what turned out to be the winning goal better.

"Joel turns us probably too easily. He's a quality player and that's why other clubs are maybe looking at him.

"He gets his strike away, we should do better to stop the shot and then it rolls into the corner.

"It's a disappointing goal to concede and it's a disappointing goal to lose the game to."

Image source, Press Eye

Tuesday night's BetMcLean Cup quarter-final between Ballymena United and Glentoran has been postponed because of a waterlogged Showgrounds pitch.

The decision to call the game off was made on Tuesday afternoon after a pitch inspection.

The Sky Blues and Glens will now meet on the rescheduled date of Tuesday, 7 January.

Two Premiership matches on Tuesday night - Dungannon Swifts v Linfield and Glenavon v Crusaders - will go ahead as scheduled.

Image source, Inpho

Tiernan Lynch will begin his Derry City reign with a daunting trip to face League of Ireland champions Shelbourne.

The Candystripes will travel to Tolka Park on 14 February for their opening game.

Damien Duff's Shels beat Derry at the Brandywell to clinch the Premier Division title in the final game of the 2024 season last month, their first league triumph since 2006.

Derry went on to lose the FAI Cup final to Drogheda, which proved the final game of Ruaidhri Higgins' tenure before Lynch's arrival from Larne.

The opening weekend's fixture programme also includes newly-promoted Cork City v Galway United and St Patrick's Athletic v Drogheda United on 14 February, Sligo Rovers v Waterford on 15 February and Bohemians v Shamrock Rovers at Aviva Stadium on 16 February.

After travelling to Shelbourne, Derry will host Bohemians and Waterford before travelling to St Patrick's Athletic.

Lynch's side will host Drogheda in an FAI Cup final rematch on 11 April.

Derry will make the long trip to newly-promoted Cork City for the final game of the season on 1 November.

The full fixture list can be found here, external.

Image source, Inpho

Glentoran manager Declan Devine has signed a new two-and-a-half year contract to remain at the Oval until 2027.

Devine was appointed in March, initially on an interim basis after Warren Feeney left the role before signing a permanent deal in April.

In his first full campaign in charge, Devine has guided the club to the County Antrim Shield final and quarter-finals of the BetMcLean Cup.

The Glens are fifth in the Irish Premiership table after a squad overhaul which saw 12 new players arrive in east Belfast along with 18 departures.

"I'm fully committed to building something truly special here at Glentoran," said Devine, who won the Irish Cup as a goalkeeper with the club in 1996.

"My vision is to create a team that plays a distinctive style of football, consistently competes for silverware, and brings pride and joy to everyone associated with the club.

"Together, I'm confident we can achieve great things worthy of this club's proud history."

Glentoran owner Ali Pour added that Devine has "been a breath of fresh air" since joining the club.

"This contract reflects our commitment to his long-term vision," he added.

"He is building a culture of excellence and a team that represents the values of Glentoran, both on and off the pitch.

"I have no doubt that with Declan at the helm, we will continue to grow, compete, and make our supporters proud."

Image source, Press Eye

Dungannon Swifts boss Rodney McAree is relishing taking on Premiership leaders Linfield at Stangmore Park on Tuesday night.

The Swifts moved up to second spot on Saturday with a 1-0 win at Ballymena United and sit eight points behind the Blues.

"We look forward to it, it's one we'll enjoy and it will be a great spectacle," said McAree.

"It's a game against one of the biggest clubs in Ireland at home under the lights - we'll challenge ourselves again and try to get something."

Linfield manager David Healy, who saw his side beat Coleraine 3-0 at the weekend, is wary of threat posed by Dungannon.

"We've had some tight, tough games down at Stangmore and we know the level of opposition that they are," he said.

"Rodney's done an incredible job since he's been back in so we know the challenge. They had a strong win at Ballymena and are riding the crest of a wave at the minute."

Glenavon host Crusaders in the league while there is also a BetMcLean Cup quarter-final between Ballymena and Glentoran at the Showgrounds.

Sky Blues boss Jim Ervin told him team after the defeat by Dungannon that he wants a response against the Glens.

"It's going to be another huge game for us but, as I said to the players, I expect a response on Tuesday night because again it was another home performance that wasn't good enough and I demand better."

We'll bring you live text commentary and in-play clips from all three matches on the BBC Sport website

Image source, Pacemaker

Loughgall manager Dean Smith confessed to "mixed emotions" after his bottom-placed side's goalless Irish Premiership draw with fellow strugglers Carrick Rangers.

Smith felt Loughgall were the "better team" over the 90 minutes but there was also a sense of relief after his goalkeeper Nathan Gartside saved two second-half Carrick penalties.

"Disappointed we didn't win but also delighted that we got a point given that we had two penalties given against us," Smith told BBC Sport NI.

"We created good opportunities. We got into the final third a lot but if I'm being totally honest, we probably never worked their goalkeeper as much as we would have liked given the opportunities that we had."

Smith also felt his side should have been awarded a "stonewall penalty" in the closing moments of the game for a challenge on substitute Jay Boyd.

"Given what he [the referee] has just given, I think that's a penalty all day long," added the Loughgall boss.

"I don't think there was a bad tackle in the game but again it ends up with six or seven bookings. It is a contact sport. We are allowed contact in it and not every contact is a foul."

Image source, Inpho

Carrick Rangers manager Stephen Baxter lamented his side's two penalty misses in a 0-0 Irish Premiership draw against Loughgall that he described as a "horrible game of football".

Loughgall goalkeeper Nathan Gartside saved David Cushley's spot-kick in the 58th minute and then stopped Danny Gibson's penalty five minutes from time with Paul Heatley blazing the rebound over the bar.

"On the whole, the ball was in the air far too much. There was no football played," said the Carrick boss.

"Not one I will want to watch back any time soon. But when you get two penalty opportunities, you've got to score one of them and to miss both of them, we'll be very disappointed.

"Credit the goalkeeper. He guessed right and made two very fine saves."

Baxter added: "I thought we got the ball down and knocked it about better in the second half and hence we created a couple of chances and certainly the one for Danny's penalty was a very good move where we broke the line.

"But there were very few lines broken today. Any chances were coming from set plays or a shot from outside the box or something. It was a very scrappy game of football."

Image source, Inpho

Dean Shiels admitted the January transfer window is going to be crucial for his "patched up" Coleraine squad after they suffered a 3-0 defeat by leaders Linfield in the Irish Premiership.

Matthew Fitzpatrick's 29th-minute goal gave the Blues a 1-0 lead at half-time and while Coleraine had their moments in the third quarter, a superb Joel Cooper effort and Fitzpatrick's second goal rounded off ultimately a comfortable win for the home side.

"We came here knowing it was going to be difficult. We gave it a go but it just wasn't good enough," Shiels told BBC Sport Northern Ireland.

Coleraine now have a break from competitive action until Boxing Day which Shiels admitted that he was "glad of".

"We're really patched up at the minute. It's difficult especially when we're asking young players to come in.

"What Senan Devine got out of playing against Joel Cooper today and Fitzpatrick will be great. I thought Corey Smith at 19 was outstanding. Kyle Spence who hasn't played in months came on and did well."

Shiels added that a "lot of hard work" has already been done in terms of securing new playing personnel come next month.

"We're delighted about how that's looking but we still have two games left before there can be any movement in that regard."

Image source, Inpho

Cliftonville assistant manager Gerard Lyttle said the nine-man Reds "beat ourselves" with their dismal and ill-disciplined first-half performance in the 2-0 Irish Premiership defeat by Portadown.

Ryan Mayse's fourth-minute goal gave the Ports a deserved lead and Ahu Obhakhan doubled their advantage in first-half injury-time after Reds pair Conor Pepper and Jonny Addis were red carded.

"I just said to the lads, credit to Portadown for winning but I don't think Portadown have beaten us, I think we've beaten ourselves especially in the first-half performance," said the Cliftonville assistant boss, who took charge of the Reds as manager Jim Magilton was serving a ban.

Lyttle described Cliftonville's defending for Mayse's early goal as "poor" before things went from bad to worse amid what he described as the "chaos" of the red cards suffered by Pepper and Addis, which the Reds assistant didn't quibble about.

"We were trying to get in at half-time, lick our wounds, 1-0 down with 10 men.

"Things can be different and we can look at changing a few things but when you lose two men in the first half, it's a mountain to climb."