Irish League Football

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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."

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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."

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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."

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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."

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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."

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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."

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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.

Read more.

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Irish Premiership: Coleraine v Glentoran

Date: Friday, 14 February Venue: Coleraine Showgrounds Kick-off: 19:45 GMT

Coverage: Watch on BBC iPlayer & BBC Sport website

Coleraine boss Dean Shiels said that his side are "feeling good about themselves" after their recent upturn in league form.

The Bannsiders have picked up four points from their last two games and host high-flying Glentoran on Friday night in a game which will be live on the BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport website.

And Shiels believes there is more to come from his side as they look to put together a run of good results that can take them into the top six.

"There's a good feeling in the camp; I think over the last few weeks, performances have been pretty good and we're starting to get points on the board," he said.

"Every team bar Linfield and now Glentoran are searching for momentum, and we feel like we have some and we can build on that.

"We want to finish as high as we can, one or two wins gets you amongst the European spots and every club will be looking at that, not just us."

Coleraine strengthened significantly in the January window, bringing in Charles Dunne, Declan McManus, Levi Ives, Ronan Doherty and Paddy Burns.

Shiels was delighted with the acquisitions of the quintet and hopes their arrivals can propel the Bannsiders into European contention after an indifferent start to the campaign which sees them sitting eighth in the table.

"Declan McManus and Charles Dunne, we tried to sign in the summer," he explained.

"There's always been an admiration for Doherty and if Levi becomes available you bring him in. We're lucky that our long-term targets we have got in the door in January.

"We knew the first part of the season would be difficult and now it's about getting stability and improving."

Image source, Inpho

Irish Premiership: Coleraine v Glentoran

Date: Friday, 14 February Venue: Coleraine Showgrounds Kick-off: 19:45 GMT

Coverage: Watch on BBC iPlayer & BBC Sport website

Glentoran boss Declan Devine believes midfielder Fuad Sule's impressive performances have been "overlooked" by everyone outside of the club.

The 28-year-old has been a key figure in the Glens' upturn in form this season, contributing to a County Antrim Shield success and helping them climb to second in the league table.

And Devine is hopeful that Sule will commit his future to the club beyond the end of the season when his contract expires.

"He has gone completely unnoticed outside of the club, he hasn't been in any team of the weeks or player of the month nominations, but anyone who comes to the Oval sees how important he is to us," he said.

"We know exactly what he brings, he said himself the conversations have been had [about a new contract] but he wants to discuss his future closer to the end of the season and that's fine because we trust him, and we are extremely lucky to have him."

Glentoran go into their meeting with Coleraine at the Showgrounds on Friday on a 14-game unbeaten streak in all competitions and Devine thinks a combination of factors have contributed to their good run.

"Players have been working hard, everyone is pulling in the one direction and there is real competition for places. It's also a testimony to the players for their appetite to keep going," he added.

The Glens suffered a 2-1 loss earlier in the season at the Showgrounds, a defeat that Devine admitted still "irks" him.

"We were leading 1-0 and we lost our concentration, didn't pick up from two set pieces and it cost us, and there was a lot of frustration after that game," he explained.

"There is no doubt Friday night is going to be a huge game. We know they have brought good players in, but we need to make sure we are right first and foremost and if we bring our A game, we give ourselves a chance."

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Carrick Rangers boss Stephen Baxter said Kyle Cherry's disallowed goal in their 3-0 defeat against Cliftonville was "three or four yards over the line".

Cherry thought he had cancelled out Rory Hale's opener after his effort bounced on the line before it was gathered by Reds goalkeeper Lewis Ridd.

Referee Jamie Robinson and his assistant ruled the goal out as they believed the ball didn't fully cross the line, a decision that frustrated Baxter, as goals from Alex Parsons and Stephen McGuinness eased Cliftonville to victory.

"I thought we competed in the game pretty well, there was a lot of good stuff, we'll be disappointed we didn't get the goal that was three or four yards over the line," he told BBC Sport NI.

"When the Cliftonville players are telling you it is over the line, our players thought it was over the line as did the 100 Carrick fans behind the goal, but the only opinion that matters is the linesman, who didn't think it was in, so no fuss from me.

"Make no mistake Cliftonville, particularly in the last 20 minutes were well on top and they scored a couple of good goals, I thought they were very good."

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Cliftonville boss Jim Magilton praised the impact of Australian winger Alex Parsons as he scored in the Reds' 3-0 win against Carrick Rangers.

Parsons opened his account for the club on his first start when he rifled home a second in the first half after Rory Hale had broke the deadlock in the first half.

Stephen McGuinness added a late third for the Reds and Magilton was pleased by what he saw from Parsons, who arrived from Brisbane Roar in January.

"It was a great finish he showed real glimpses tonight of his quality and had one or two other opportunities," Magilton told BBC Sport NI.

"He's only really in the door but we thought it was time to get him on the pitch and he got 70 minutes which will stand him in good stead and hopefully that goal will get him off to a flying start."

The victory halted a run of three games without a win in the league for the Reds and moves them up to sixth in the table.

"We know Carrick will always carry a massive threat and they did, but I thought we controlled large parts of the game and took our goals really well," he added.

Watch the highlights as Cliftonville ease to a comfortable 3-0 win against Carrick Rangers at Solitude.

Read the report here.