Irish League Football

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Irish Premiership champions Larne have signed Jordan McEneff from League of Ireland Premier Division side Derry City for an undisclosed fee.

The 23-year-old arrived at the Brandywell in August 2022 after spending his youth career at Arsenal.

McEneff scored nine goals in 45 appearances for the Candystripes, the first of those in the FAI Cup final against Shelbourne.

"Jordan picked up an injury early in our season and that really restricted his appearances this year," said Derry City manager Ruaidhri Higgins.

"Age-wise he's got time on his side but we're at the tail-end of the League of Ireland season and this is a great opportunity for him to prepare for a full season, playing at a really good club."

"I want to thank Jordan for his time and effort here. He’s a great lad and player and I want to wish him every success in his career going forward."

'His ability has been clear to see'

Larne manager Tiernan Lynch commented: "Jordan will be a great addition for us in midfield.

"His ability at Derry City has been clear to see and we feel that he can bring that ability to what we're trying to do here.

"We have talked before about not adding players just for the sake of it, they need to fit our culture and enhance what we already have in our changing room and we feel Jordan fits the bill on both counts."

McEneff will be immediately added to Larne's European squad as they prepare for this week's Uefa Conference League play-off first leg game against Lincoln Red Imps.

"I’m delighted to be here – I spoke to the manager and chairman over the weekend and the amibitions of the club is really exciting, both in the league and Europe.

"Coming here to play football is a good opportunity for me and I’m excited to get started.

"I’m a player who tries to get from box-to-box and like to assist and scores myself where possible and hopefully I can do that here."

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Ballymena United have moved to further strengthen their squad by signing winger Andy Scott from Coleraine and bringing Larne defender Sean Brown back to the club on loan.

Attacking wide man Scott also previously played for Larne and Accrington Stanley.

Coleraine confirmed that Scott, 24, had joined their derby rivals for an undisclosed fee, bringing to an end his 18-month stay with the Bannsiders after moving from Larne in the 2023 January transfer window.

Scott made 56 appearances for the Ballycastle Road club, scoring two goals.

Brown returns to Ballymena after his loan spell at the club during the second half of last season.

The pair join as Ballymena aim to get their first points of the new campaign on the board when they face Crusaders at the Showgrounds on Tuesday night.

United manager Jim Ervin said: "We are delighted to see Andy arriving at the club, he will provide strength in an area which needs it greatly at present and I have no doubt he will show our supporters precisely how good he is."

Of Brown's return to the club, Ervin added: "It's no secret we think a lot of this young man, he has all the hallmarks of an excellent player and we are grateful to have him back with us."

Ballymena have also placed defender Andy McGrory on the transfer list by mutual consent.

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Having started their season with wins over Ballymena United and Dungannon Swifts, victory over Glenavon on Tuesday night would see Linfield move nine points ahead of Larne before the defending champions have even kicked a ball in league action this season.

With the first leg of their Uefa Conference League tie against Lincoln Red Imps to come on Thursday night, Tiernan Lynch's side are one step away from qualifying for the competition's group stages with their European involvement meaning their first league game is presently scheduled for 1 September.

Linfield's trip to Mourneview Park, to be shown live on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website, is the third of five games the Blues could play before Larne return to domestic action but manager David Healy is not concerned about building a buffer over their title rivals.

"We'll worry about our game on Tuesday against Glenavon and worry about no more than that," he said.

"Normally a real difficult venue so we'll need to be good, we'll need to possibly be a little better than we were [against Dungannon]."

While focused on his side's own big game this week, Linfield midfielder Kyle McClean will be putting league rivalries to one side come Thursday night.

"I’m sure [Larne] will fancy their chances and as a league I think everyone else will sit back and have a close eye on it," he said.

"Good luck to them and, if they do it, fair play to them.

"It’s something as a nation and as a league we need [in order] to prove that the league is progressing, which I think it is."

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Cliftonville's Shea Gordon said Cliftonville "were good in spells" during their 2-1 Irish Premiership victory against Glenavon at Mourneview Park.

The victory means that the Reds are unbeaten in their opening two Premiership games after defeating Portadown last weekend.

"We were good in spells, but not too good in other spells," Gordon told BBC Sport NI.

"At the end of the day coming to a place like here is never easy, but we got the three points."

Gordon, who signed for Jim Magilton's side in January, netted his first league goal in the 57th minute after Joe Gormley had put the visitors ahead early on.

"I’ve had a few chances since I have come in and getting the first one [goal] is probably the hardest, so it’s nice to get the first one out and hopefully there is more to come now."

The north Belfast side were the Irish Cup champions last year for the first time in 45 years, but Gordon admitted they can't "dwell on last season".

"We have to be able to push on this season," the 26-year-old continued.

"Of course we want to close the gap and get as close to them [Linfield and Larne] as we can and we think we are capable of it."

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Glenavon's Mark Haughey said he thought Glenavon were 'the better team' in the second half after his side's 2-1 defeat by Cliftonville.

Joe Gormley gave the Reds the lead after 16 minutes with Shea Gordon doubling their advantage in the second half before the Lurgan Blues halved the deficit on the 71st minute.

“It’s always disappointing to get a defeat. Obviously every game of football you want to win, but I think we need to take the positives of how we played.

“Some sloppy errors that lead to the goals, but we matched them in the first half and in the second half I thought we were the better team.

"Unfortunately at the end of the day it’s all down to results and we have came away with a loss."

Stephen McDonnell's side finished tenth last season, a position that centre-half Haughey said "isn't good enough".

"We need to be better than last year," Haughey continued.

"We need to better ourselves in terms of where we finish in the league.

"A club like us need to be realistic in our aspirations. Yes at the start of the season we set out our stall to get top six and can we push and threaten that and give ourselves a chance into Europe with an Irish Cup run.

"But all in all we want to be better than last year and that’s first and foremost for this club and then try to progress from there."

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Linfield's Ethan McGee said the Blues players were delighted to defeat Dungannon Swifts and make it back-to-back victories in the 2024/25 campaign.

Three goals in eight minutes gave the home side a comfortable lead at the break. Dungannon did respond and scored just three minutes after the restart but a comeback always looked beyond the Swifts.

"It was a good game and it’s good to get the three points. Dungannon set up well and we knew them coming here would make it difficult for us so everyone is delighted to get the three points.

"As a defender you never want to concede any goals. Everyone’s ambition is to keep a clean sheet and unfortunately today we did concede.

"We did well to just keep it 3-1 and I thought we really pushed on in the game."

David Healy's unbeaten side travel to Mourneview Park to play Glenavon on Tuesday night, who still await their first points of the new campaign.

"Everyone is enjoying it, we have six points now and it’s good to get another win under our belt, but we have another big test on Tuesday night and we have to give it everything we can," added McGee.

"Glenavon have recruited well in the summer, as a lot of the clubs have. They’ll set up really well.

"I think since I’ve been at Linfield, it’s never an easy game no matter who you play."

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Versatile midfielder Jordan Gibson said he was "delighted" after he scored two goals during Loughgall's 3-0 victory against Carrick Rangers.

Gibson netted twice in the first half before substitute Benji Magee scored in stoppage time to guarantee Loughgall were the comfortable victors in their opening fixture of the 2024/25 campaign.

“I thought we were brilliant today. Obviously it’s nice to score two goals, but the most important thing for us is three points," Gibson told BBC Sport NI.

“It’s always a nice feeling to score, especially two."

Gibson has now scored eleven times for the Villagers, who finished a creditable ninth in their first season back in the top-flight.

“I’m delighted honestly, top goalscorer at the minute, I wish it could stay like this!

“It’ll be tough to keep Benji [Magee off top spot], he took his goal really well and thought it was a great finish which topped it off for a great day for us.”

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Glentoran striker Jordan Jenkins said he was "happy" with his performance against former club Portadown during the Glens' 2-1 victory at Shamrock Park.

Goals from Jenkins and a late stoppage-time deflected strike from Niall McGinn secured the Glens' first points of the season.

"You always know when you come to Shamrock Park it’s going to be a tough game and when it goes into the second half and it’s still 1-0 it’s always going to be tight.

"They’re going to throw bodies forward and you can see in the second half, it opened up a lot more and they had a lot more chances.

"Unfortunately they got the goal, but we got the win in the end."

Jenkins has spent the last number of seasons on loan from the Glens, including impressive spells at Dundela and Portadown.

The 24-year-old broke the deadlock after just nine minutes when he connected with a clever pass from new signing Dylan Connolly and fired through the legs of Aaron McCarey.

"I just remember being put through and I saw Aaron [McCarey] coming out and I just hit it as hard as I could underneath him and thankfully it went in so I’m happy.

"I seem to like to score against Portadown at Shamrock Park!"

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Portadown keeper Aaron McCarey admitted he knew he would "struggle" to stop Niall McGinn’s deflected strike from securing all three points for Glentoran deep into stoppage time at Shamrock Park.

McCarey’s former club Glentoran took the lead after just nine minutes before Ryan Mayse levelled the game in the second half.

However the goals weren’t done there with McGinn’s 93rd-minute goal breaking the hearts of the home fans.

"I think the equalising goal was full value and we’re probably thinking at that stage we can go on and win it so to get nothing out of the game is very disappointing," McCarey told BBC Sport NI.

"First and foremost, our set-up from the throw-in is very poor. You can’t allow a player of Niall McGinn’s quality to go inside and get onto his right foot.

"I knew from the minute it took the wicked deflection, I was struggling and unfortunately it dipped in just under the bar."

It has been a tough start to newly promoted Portadown's campaign, who travel to face Loughgall on Tuesday night.

"The first two league games, Cliftonville and Glentoran, if we’re being realistic everyone outside would have said Portadown are getting nothing out of them. We had a different mindset completely, we thought we could get points.

"The season is in its infancy, it’s a big game on Tuesday and we need to get points on the board as soon as possible."

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Glenavon manager Stephen McDonnell said his side are 'getting to the levels they expect' after their 2-1 defeat against Cliftonville at Mourneview Park.

Goals from Joe Gormley and Shea Gordon gave the away side a 2-0 lead before James Doona halved the Reds lead in the 71st minute.

“Really pleased with the performance,” McDonnell told BBC Sport NI.

“I thought we were fantastic, unfortunately for all the good play we weren’t able to capitalise.

“Intensity, urgency, tempo and control was ten-fold compared to last week and I thought overall we were more like what we want the team to look like."

Glenavon still await their first points of the season after an opening day defeat against Carrick Rangers with this result now meaning that they haven't beaten Cliftonville in their last 16 meetings.

"We are still bedding in new players, no one ever hits the ground running in the first game of the season and we feel like we are getting to the levels we expect," he explained.

"The message to the players is now that they have found a new level in the new season, in particular the second half, and can they sustain that?

"That is how we want to play, we want it to be very difficult for teams to play here and ultimately, we want to be picking up points."

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Jim Magilton admitted his side were 'a bit nervy' during their 2-1 victory over Glenavon at Mourneview Park.

"It’s a fantastic result, our performance at times was very good and at times, it was a bit nervy, especially towards the end.

"We hit the panic button a little bit and that’s two games in a row we have done that. I thought in the first half we managed the game very well, but when you go in 1-0 up it’s always precarious, we were sloppy at times and that encourages the opposition," Magilton explained.

"When we scored the second goal, it’s a fantastic ball from Ronan Doherty, a great run from Shea Gordon and a great finish and you’re thinking at 2-0 let’s put the accelerator on and we didn’t, again we encouraged them."

Even though the result means that it is back-to-back victories for the Irish Cup holders, both games have resulted in a tense final ten minutes for Cliftonville fans, something that Magilton addressed.

"People are getting a little bit overanxious about getting a result rather than focusing on the game itself.

"There is lots to come, I have great belief in the players and we can play a little bit more than we did."

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Dungannon Swifts boss Rodney McAree was left to rue a calamitous eight minutes in defeat to Linfield that saw his side concede three times in quick succession.

After a relatively even opening in a contest that ultimately finished 3-1 to the hosts at Windsor Park, Joel Cooper put the Blues ahead with his strike soon followed by efforts from Kyle McClean and Chris Shields.

While Dungannon improved in the second half, and reduced the deficit through Adam Glenny, McAree knew there was no way back from 3-0 down against David Healy's men.

"We were well in the game," said the former Glentoran boss.

"Within the space of eight minutes we found ourselves 3-0 down which was massively frustrating and hurts a lot.

"We have to identify that quicker on the pitch in terms of leadership, getting higher up the pitch, defending better, reacting to second balls, all the basic things and it hasn't happened.

"In the space of those eight minutes the game is dead and buried."

Things get no easier for Swifts with a trip to Solitude on Tuesday night to face Cliftonville.

"Obviously going to Cliftonville is a tough place to go," McAree added.

"We pick ourselves up, take the positives from the second 45 minutes, and we'll look forward to it."

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Glentoran manager Declan Devine thinks his side played 'a good brand of football' but admitted they have to learn and need to convert their chances more.

Niall McGinn's stoppage time goal secured the three points for the away side after Jordan Jenkins first half shot had been cancelled out by Ryan Mayse's close-range strike.

“Full credit to the players, the focus levels are good for this stage of the year, they’re putting a lot in behind the scenes and the crowd were magnificent and stayed behind the team," Devine said.

“Portadown would have got a lot of confidence with the chances we missed, we literally missed four or five chances which could have put the game to bed.

"That is something we need to get better at, but I can’t fault the application of the players and honestly I felt we played a really good brand of football."

Glentoran are rebuilding their side after 13 players left the club over the summer, but Devine praised some of his new recruits.

“Dylan Connolly was exceptional, delighted for Jordan Jenkins who was in the Championship last year, I wanted him back at the football club because I think he belongs here, and I’m delighted to see him take his opportunity.

“We have to be aware that we let 16 or 17 players out this year, we are very much a work in progress and there are going to be highs and lows.

"We want to win every game we are involved in. We are only together as a group seven or eight weeks, we are completely trying to change the style of play, we want to entertain our fans and we want to fight for our fans."

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Linfield boss David Healy shrugged off rumours linking him to the vacant Preston North End job after watching the Blues beat Dungannon Swifts 3-1 at Windsor Park.

“I think the rumours were just put out there. I have a job to do at Linfield and I have been here eight and a half, coming up to nine years in October," said the former Preston striker.

"I know the challenge that I have ahead of me and Linfield have been good to me and I think I have been good to Linfield.

"My job is to go home and rewatch the game tonight, watch a bit of Glenavon and be prepared as I can be for a tough game on Tuesday at Mourneview."

Healy added that he was ‘pleased with the outcome’ after Linfield made it back-to-back victories.

"I'm pleased with the outcome, I thought we were good in the first half, even though for twenty minutes it was pretty even in terms of two teams wanting to play in the correct manor," he said.

"Dungannon I would describe as an awkward team to play against because they do things differently to a few other teams in the league and they cause you problems. We have had problems against them previously."

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Niall Currie praised his side's performance and said he is "very proud" despite Portadown losing 2-1 against Glentoran after an injury-time winner by Niall McGinn.

“We limited Glentoran to very little over the whole game. I’m very proud of the players, they were magnificent,” Currie told BBC Sport NI.

“As I have said to the players, small margins make a big difference, and I don’t think anyone could say we didn’t deserve a point from today, but that’s football.

“The biggest word we’ll use this season is resilience and we are going to have to be resilient."

Glentoran netted a last-gasp winner when McGinn's looping deflected strike sailed past ex-Glens stopper Aaron McCarey to take the three points back to east Belfast.

The result means that newly promoted Portadown still await their first point after two games.

“You get individual mistakes all over the pitch at all times. I think we have the ball and it gets turned over very easily and then in the 94th minute they have a throw-in 30 yards out and we switched off for a second, it’s as simple as that," he explained.

"Niall is able to make a run from a bog-standard throw-in and get a shot off and we have to learn from that. Maybe a bit of naivety, but I can’t praise the team highly enough.

"This is a cruel league and a very difficult one and we understand that sometimes you don’t get your breaks."

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Carrick manager Stuart King said his side 'weren't good enough' during their defeat against Loughgall.

Two goals in the first half from Jordan Gibson and Benji Magee's late strike meant that the home side were the comfortable victors.

"We weren’t good enough, Loughgall deserved it," King told BBC Sport NI.

"We were poor. I didn’t think there was much between the two teams in the first half, but we didn’t switch on for two set-plays. After that, they dominated the game and we created very little and they fully deserved the three points."

Carrick Rangers came into the game after a convincing 2-0 victory over Glenavon last weekend with King labelling the squad "the best it has ever been" after the opening fixture.

"Last week they got lots of praise, they were phenomenal and they were really good. This week was the complete opposite," King admitted.

"There are enough senior players in that changing room that they know and don’t need to be told.

"We can’t have levels so inconsistent as that’s what killed us last year. We had a really good season last year, but our consistency levels have to be at a high level and if we are at the levels we were at last week, we won’t have a problem, but today was not acceptable."