Irish League Football

Richard Petrie
BBC Sport NI Journalist

Image source, Presseye

Carrick Rangers manager Stephen Baxter has urged his players to "take up the challenge and express themselves" in Saturday's crucial Irish Premiership basement encounter against Loughgall at Taylors Avenue.

As both sides battle for their top division survival, Baxter's team sit 11th in the table, nine points above their bottom-placed opponents, having played one game more.

Carrick have drawn four and lost six of their past 10 league outings since lasting tasting victory in a win over Ballymena United on 30 November.

"It will be two teams that are battling very, very hard and two teams that are competitive," said Baxter of this weekend's contest.

"The motivation of the team is not a problem at all. The players are super guys.

"I always think you have to take these things as a challenge. You shouldn't worry too much and say to ourselves 'we can go and do this'. Don't be frightened of the experience - just go and play and express yourself and don't be worrying too much about it."

Carrick's poor league run has been interspersed with Irish Cup wins over Championship sides Newry City and Ballinamallard United which have taken them to the quarter-finals of that competition.

In their two top flight meetings with Loughgall so far this season, Dean Smith's team came out on top 3-0 in August and their December encounter ended in a goalless draw.

"There is very little in it between the two teams and we have yet to get the better of them," added the former Crusaders boss.

"We have been competing really, really well with all the teams. We've won our couple of cup games in there too which has been good.

Image source, Pacemaker Press

Larne boss Gary Haveron was left to rue missed chances in their 1-1 draw with Glenavon at Inver Park.

Tiarnan O'Connor's early strike looked to have been enough to give the hosts a much-needed victory, before David Toure popped up to level one minute into additional time.

The draw means that the Inver outfit are now winless in their last four league games and Haveron was frustrated that they lacked the clinical edge to put the result beyond doubt.

"We went a goal up and probably should have been two or three goals up with the chances we created," he told BBC Sport NI.

"We didn't take them and to get done right at the end is a bitter spill to swallow. When things aren't going for you, they don't go for and that's the way it's going for us at the minute.

"We've been guilty of not killing games off when we've had the chance."

Image source, Pacemaker Press

Ballymena United boss Jim Ervin said it would have been an "injustice" if his side didn't come away with a point after their 1-1 draw against Glentoran.

Substitute Joe Moore scored a late equaliser for the Sky Blues to cancel out Christie Pattison's opener.

The Braidmen are without a win in nine outings despite securing that late point, but Ervin was pleased they rescued a draw in a "crazy" game.

"Full credit to the players, they went right to the death, and I think over the course of the game, it was no more than we deserved, he told BBC Sport NI.

The Sky Blues boss was also full of praise for his goalkeeper Sean O'Neill, who thwarted Johnny Russell late on.

"It was a nervy 90 seconds after Moore's goal and Sean O'Neill pulls off a wonder save," he added.

"It would have been an injustice if we didn't get a point because performance wise, we were excellent."

Image source, Pacemaker Press

Glentoran boss Declan Devine said his side's dramatic 1-1 draw with Ballymena United was "extremely hard to take".

Christie Pattison had given the Glens the lead early in the second half at the Showgrounds, but they were hit with a late sucker punch.

Substitute Joe More equalised for the Sky Blues deep into stoppage time and Devine was frustrated his side couldn't hold on to claim all three points.

"The players all disappointed, they should have seen the game out better, we have to accept we took a kick in the teeth right at the death," he told BBC Sport NI.

"To concede in that manner when we were under pressure, it was about game management and seeing the game out, but I can have no complaints with the players and their application."

The result for the second-placed Glens extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to 16 matches.

They will now turn their attentions to their third away game in the space of a week as they face Cliftonville at Solitude in a game that is live on the BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport website.

"It's a Belfast derby against a huge football club," Devine added.

"We're going into their back yard, and they'll be fresh from not playing this week, so it's a game we should look forward to."

Image source, Inpho

Crusaders will use £2.2m of levelling-up funding from the UK Government to help make Seaview a "vital piece of community infrastructure".

The money has been earmarked to develop a skills centre in the south stand of the stadium with the club believing it will "offer opportunities for people, young and old, to achieve and improve their lives"

"The club developed a very strong application and a robust business case within a very competitive, UK-wide challenge-fund," said Tommy Whiteside, the project director and treasurer of Crusaders.

"The skills centre will be a vital part of our infrastructure at Seaview as we seek to develop our premises as an open and welcoming modern small stadium."

The facility will be open to the public and offer courses and vocational opportunities, as well as pathways to further and higher education partners.

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Hilary Benn said the funding will "help the local community to flourish" in north Belfast.

He said: "It's wonderful to see that Crusaders FC's Seaview stadium in north Belfast, with its unique football heritage, will now be supporting new skills for the next generation.

"This state of the art skills centre will see the redevelopment of the south stand at Crusaders into a new community education, event and skills centre. The Shore Road facility will therefore help the local community to flourish.

"As this project shows, the UK Government's Plan for Change is delivering for people in Northern Ireland and across the rest of the UK, boosting skills and opportunities and enhancing the quality of life for local people."

Image source, Pacemaker Press

Portadown goalkeeper Aaron McCarey said his side were "fantastic" in their 2-0 win against Larne at Shamrock Park.

Josh Ukek and Ahu Obhakhan struck in the first half to seal the victory that moves the Ports into fifth.

And McCarey was delighted with their positive start to the game which he felt was key to their win, a second of the season against the Inver outfit at home.

"The big thing we said all week was a fast start, it's a difficult surface out there at the minute, we knew if we started quickly and score first, we are a tough nut to crack defensively," he explained.

"We got the first goal, quickly followed by the second which was great, and I thought we were very professional in the second half and saw the game out, I don't think Larne created too much which was a credit to our lads.

"I wasn't expecting it as easy as that, but Larne have played a lot of games and they're playing catch up so I knew if we were right there was a chance we could capitalise, and I have to say the boys were fantastic."

Image source, Pacemaker Press

Larne manager Gary Haveron said their performance in their 2-0 defeat against Portadown was "not acceptable".

First half goals from Josh Ukek and Ahu Obhakhan sealed the win for Portadown, with Larne now winless in their last three league games without scoring.

And a frustrated Haveron expressed his disappointment with Larne's toothlessness in defeat.

"I'm bitterly disappointed with the show we have put on for our fans who paid to come down here and watch us, we let them down badly especially with that first half performance," he told BBC Sport NI.

"Portadown were hungrier, they wanted it more, they played the conditions better, we didn't look like we knew what we were doing, we were clueless in our performance, overall, not acceptable".

Haveron was particularly critical of the manner of the two goals that Larne conceded and their inability to improve on a poor first half showing with a similarly subdued performance in the second period.

"It was two poor goals, we let them know at half-time, it was not acceptable, but the second half we never really got going, we were flat," he continued.

"When you concede goals as soft as we do what chance do you have of winning."

Image source, Pacemaker Press

Cliftonville boss Jim Magilton said that they "got what we deserved" as they suffered a 3-1 loss against Glenavon.

Two defensive mix-ups allowed Michael O'Connor and Jack Malone to score inside a devastating five-minute spell in the first half.

Jack Keaney then gave away a penalty which Davy McDaid dispatched, and Magilton expressed his frustration with their sub-par performance.

"We got what we deserved, we were second best all over the pitch, they played with intensity, and we couldn't match it, and we made bad decisions that cost us," he said.

"We had one or two opportunities early on that fell to Alex [Parsons], who you wanted them to fall to didn't take them and we had a mountain to climb.

"It's the fourth game in 10 days and it caught up with us, there were a lot of poor individual performances, and too many poor decisions cost us goals."

Image source, Pacemaker Press

Glenavon boss Paddy McLaughlin said that his side had "that cutting edge" as they claimed a 3-1 win against Cliftonville at Mourneview Park.

Michael O'Connor opened the scoring with a well-taken finish before Jack Malone doubled their advantage with a delightful lob.

Davy McDaid added a third in the second half with a penalty as the Lurgan Blues recorded their fifth successive league win.

"Our boys were a bit more clinical, we knew we had to nullify their attack, and our defence was excellent, so at one end we were very good and at the other we had that cutting edge," he told BBC Sport NI.

"I'm delighted with how the game went and it's a good three points against a good side.

"When teams are vulnerable you have to smell blood and take your chances when they come and fair play to our frontmen, it was three good finishes at the right time."

The result moves Glenavon above Ballymena United in the table and up to ninth place and McLaughlin insists they are aiming higher with Coleraine just a point above them.

"You're still looking over your shoulder, you don't want to get complacent because anything can happen in this league, anyone can go on a run, we have to be mindful of that, he added.

"But if you want to be ambitious you have to look what is in front of you and Coleraine are the next ones we can catch."

Image source, Press Eye

Glentoran midfielder Fuad Sule says he will probably wait to the end of the season to determine if he will stay at the east Belfast club.

The 28-year-old moved from Premiership champions Larne to the Oval in the summer of 2023.

Sule has been a key figure in Glentoran's resurgence this season and they are currently on an unbeaten run of 15 games.

However, his contract expires at the end of the season and negotiations are continuing over a possible new deal.

"It's been very well documented, the situation with me at the moment - the people there are looking after the negotiations," said Sule.

"All I can do is try my best to perform at the best of my ability on a Friday or Saturday. I feel like I'm doing that at the moment.

"I don't tend to let these kind of things kind of influence me in how I play. It just depends on what happens and I'll probably wait until the end of the season to see what happens."

Declan Devine's team have already won the Co Antrim Shield this season and they continued their excellent form with a 2-1 victory at Coleraine on Friday night.

"You can't build a house on poor foundations and I think the manager has laid the foundations for us to build on since the pre-season.

"You can see the results of that now coming to the fore on a weekly basis [and we're] more consistent."

Image source, Pacemaker Press

Glentoran boss Declan Devine said he was "delighted" for his players as they started a run of three away games in eight days with victory over Coleraine.

The east Belfast outfit, who are now unbeaten in 15 games in all competitions, won 2-1 after a goal in each half from Jordan Jenkins and Kodi Lyons-Foster.

Matthew Shevlin took advantage of a rare mistake from Glens skipper Marcus Kane to force a nervy finish but the visitors held on for the remainder of injury-time.

Glentoran were victorious despite the absence of David Fisher meaning they started with two full-backs in Jonny Russell and Danny Amos down their left side and Jenkins as the only recognised centre forward in their squad.

As a busy period continues, they travel to Ballymena United on Tuesday in a rearranged fixture before heading to Solitude to meet Cliftonville on Friday night, the latter a game streamed live on the BBC Sport NI website and iPlayer.

"They're fit, they're resilient, we've a good strength in depth," said Devine of his squad.

"We will have to make changes as the week goes by but I've full trust in everybody. 

"We still have a few important players to come back. We've Paddy McClean and Aaron Wightman, so there's good players to come into the mix, top players.

"That will only strengthen us over the coming weeks."

Glentoran's latest success cut Linfield's lead at the top of the Irish Premiership to 17 points and Devine's men have a pair of games in hand over their 'Big Two' rivals.

"We just have to concentrate on ourselves," he added.

"There'll be a lot of twists and turns, there's still a split to come, but all we have to concern ourselves with is, analyse tonight, enjoy tonight, and then over the weekend prepare and recover for a tough game down in Ballymena."

Glentoran cut Linfield's lead at the top of the Irish Premiership to 17 points as goals from Jordan Jenkins and Kodi Lyons-Foster earned a 2-1 win over Coleraine.

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