Irish League Football

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Marty McCann and Colin Coates have joined Glenavon as part of new manager Paddy McLaughlin's backroom team.

The former Cliftonville manager was appointed Lurgan Blues manager on Sunday after the departure of Stephen McDonnell 24 hours earlier.

Both appointments have previous working history with McLaughlin from his time at Solitude with McCann working as a first-team coach in north Belfast and Coates part of the playing squad.

All three were at Stangmore Park on Tuesday as McLaughlin took charge for the first time in Glenavon's 2-1 defeat to Dungannon Swifts in the Mid Ulster Cup semi-finals.

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Linfield manager David Healy says his club is "rebuilding the siege mentality" they previously had as they attempt to wrench the league title from the hands of Larne, who have been crowned champions for the past two seasons.

A Joel Cooper goal gave the Blues a rare win over their rivals on their home patch at Inver Park and put more daylight between themselves and the chasing pack at the summit of the table.

The 1-0 victory gives Linfield an eight-point cushion over their nearest pursuers and opens up a 14-point gap over Tiernan Lynch's side.

"We’re still in the process of trying to build a siege mentality. We had that a number of years ago when we were winning title after title and you sort of have that in and around the dressing room," Healy told BBC Sport NI.

“You can’t build that overnight but the process is underway."

Healy said "hard work" was the key to his team's success on Saturday evening.

"It’s a really tough place to come so to leave here with a win and three points is pleasing.

"Credit to the players, to a man I thought they went about their work very well.

"I could go through one to 11 individually and praise the roles that they all played and the collective outcome."

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Glenavon have parted company with manager Stephen McDonnell after their 2-0 defeat to Dungannon Swifts in the Irish Premiership on Saturday.

The Lurgan Blues have only won three league games this season and were beaten by Championship side Armagh City in the BetMcLean Cup earlier this month.

They are currently 11th in the Irish Premiership table, only four points from bottom place.

"Glenavon FC have tonight parted company with manager Stephen McDonnell," the club stated.

"The club wishes to place on record its thanks to Stephen for his efforts."

McDonnell, who previously managed Warrenpoint, was appointed in September 2023, replacing Gary Hamilton who had been in the post for 12 years.

In his first season in charge, he led the club to safety as they finished in 10th place.

But after a run of seven games without a win in all competitions, his time at Mourneview Park has come to an end.

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Portadown manager Niall Currie praised his side's "brilliant" performance in a 2-0 victory over Glentoran at the Oval.

The Ports moved above their opponents into sixth spot in the Premiership table after a late Shay McCartan penalty, followed by Ryan Mayse's goal deep into stoppage time, saw them overcome Declan Devine's team.

The mid-Ulster outfit were unable to convert a number of first-half chances and also hit the post.

"I thought we were brilliant today. I thought first half we were top drawer. We were really disappointed we didn’t come in at half-time ahead. We could have been a couple in front easily," Currie told BBC Sport NI.

"At half-time we were frustrated but we kept doing the same things and applied ourselves in the same ways.

"It’s a long time since I came to the Oval and had a team perform like that. We were sensational. Our midfield today was outstanding."

The visitors expected a better performance from the Glens in the second half but managed to come out on top in the end.

"Half-time I knew they would get a rocket from Deccie [Glentoran manager Declan Devine so we thought first 20 minutes of the second half would be about digging in, staying compact.

"We know we have the ability to hit teams on the counter – we’ve got great pace in the team, great quality in the final third too.

“It’s a really good day for the club. If we’re right we’re a very competitive team in this league."

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Glentoran manager Declan Devine says the level of performance was "unacceptable" in his side's 2-0 defeat to Portadown at the Oval.

Late goals from Shay McCartan and Ryan Mayse sealed victory for the Ports as Glentoran dropped from third to seventh in the Irish Premiership table.

"There's no shying away from it. It was a poor performance from us," Devine told BBC Sport NI after the game.

"I was really disappointed with us on the ball today. I didn’t think we were free flowing at all.

"We’ve had a bad day but individually and collectively it wasn’t there today, and that’s the most disappointing things for me apart from the result."

McCartan's opener came from the penalty spot with eight minutes remaining before Mayse completed the Ports first victory at the Oval in 11 years with the final kick of the game.

While Devine admitted he did not think it was a penalty, he conceded it was not the reason for the defeat.

"I didn’t think we could get much worse in the second half to be honest because the first half performance was unacceptable.

"I don’t think it’s a penalty but I'm not going to stand here and blame the referee for us losing the game because we were more than responsible ourselves for losing the game.

"The inconsistency is something that has to be addressed and we can't have that level of performance. It's unacceptable."

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Ballymena United manager Jim Ervin praised his players for their stubborn rearguard action in Saturday's 1-0 win over Cliftonville at Solitude.

The Sky Blues had to soak up pressure from the home side before Andy Scott's 70th-minute winner which elevated them to third place in the Premiership table, behind the Reds on goal difference.

"I thought it was a really difficult game. I thought we were under pressure for the majority of it. You expect that when you come to Cliftonville and you have to be resolute in defence and brave and you have to enjoy being under the cosh.

"You have to ride your luck at times and enjoy defending.

"We had no passengers – every player stuck to their task and worked their socks off and did their jobs."

The victory ended a run of four straight top flight defeats for Ervin's charges.

"I'm so pleased for everyone at the club as it’s been a difficult couple of weeks.

"We’ve worked hard on the training pitch and behind the scenes and we got our just rewards."

Livewire winger Scott is one of a contingent of players who joined the Braidmen from derby rivals Coleraine in the summer.

"Andy has scored a tremendous goal and I’m so pleased for him.

"He’s a hard working player, he never stops, the amount of energy that he has, and we don’t always see the benefit of it going forward. We see a lot defensively."

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Paul Heatley has heaped praise on manager Stephen Baxter after Carrick Rangers' comprehensive 3-0 win over their former club Crusaders.

Both player and manager left the Seaview outfit this summer, and in their first match-up against their old employers since leaving, they comfortably won all three points.

Heatley scored twice in the victory with Emmett McGuckin scoring Rangers' other goal as they moved up to tenth in the Irish Premiership table.

"He's had a massive impact and I’m probably the best versed on that," Heatley said of Baxter after the game.

"I've played with him my whole career so personally it’s very simple for me but the other players have taken to it like ducks to water.

"You can see the togetherness of the players and fighting for each other. The performances over the last few weeks have been tremendous and we just haven’t been getting the results but today we did."

The victory was Carrick's first win in four weeks after three draws and one defeat.

"The last few weeks we've been playing good football but not killing games off which has been really frustrating," Heatley admitted.

"It can creep into players mind so seeing the second goal go in gave us a bit of breathing space.

"Going in a half-time we know 2-0 could be the most dangerous score in football so we had to go out and play like we were a goal behind and keeping doing what we did the first half, and we got our rewards again."

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Ballymena United have announced the signing of Derry City captain Patrick McEleney, who will join the club in January.

The 32-year-old, who has won four Irish Premier Division titles in his career, is a former Sunderland youth player and also featured for Oldham Athletic in League One.

Having made over 300 appearances for Derry City across two spells, McEleney departure from the Brandywell comes just 24 hours after brother Shane also left to join Glentoran.

Ballymena manager Jim Ervin said the signing was an "incredible boost" for the club.

"His experience and winning mentality will be invaluable as we continue our exciting project," Ervin said on Ballymena United's X account., external

“Signing a player of Patrick’s calibre is an incredible boost for the club. He is a top-class footballer, widely respected across the game."

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Carrick Rangers v Crusaders (Saturday, 15:00 GMT, coverage on Sportsound)

This one won't be short of a few goals with both teams scoring freely at the minute. With Stephen Baxter up against his former team it's going to be an exciting one but I think Crusaders will be the ones to get over the line and take the points back to Seaview.

Prediction: 2-3

Cliftonville v Ballymena United (Saturday, 15:00 GMT, coverage on Sportsound)

Jim Magilton's team are starting to heat up. They're scoring plenty and not conceding too many goals while Ballymena have come under pressure recently and have struggled to find the back of the net.

Prediction: 3-0

Dungannon Swifts v Glenavon (Saturday, 15:00 GMT, coverage on Sportsound)

Glenavon are another team struggling to score and I think they're definitely finding it difficult at the moment. Rodney McAree has his team playing a good style of football and they'll be going into the game high in confidence.

Prediction: 2-1

Glentoran v Portadown (Saturday, 15:00 GMT, coverage on Sportsound)

I'm not 100% sure which way this goes. Glentoran have done okay recently, and the same can be said for Portadown but I'll back my home town team to take the win.

Prediction: 2-3

Loughgall v Coleraine (Saturday, 15:00 GMT, coverage on Sportsound)

I'd say these are the games Oran Kearney needs to win to be a force in the league. They're slightly inconsistent, but a young team in progression and Loughgall will make them fight for it I'm sure.

Predication: 1-2

Larne v Linfield (Saturday, 17:30 GMT, live on on BBC iPlayer & BBC Sport NI website)

Larne are going into this one off the back of a good win in the cup, but the league is so important for them. If David Healy can find a result at Inver Park, it'll put a lot more pressure on Larne. A sign of a good team is when they continue to win, even if they're not playing the best, and I think that's what's happening with Linfield at the minute.

Prediction: 1-2

Join Thomas with Michael McNamee on Sportsound this Saturday from 14:00 GMT on BBC Radio Ulster, BBC Sounds and the BBC Sport website.