Irish League Football

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Glenavon manager Stephen McDonnell admitted "decisions will be made" around team selection after his side's 3-0 defeat against Linfield at Mourneview Park.

It was the worst possible start to the game for Glenavon, with Linfield's Joel Cooper breaking the deadlock in the opening two minutes before Kirk Millar doubled their advantage and Cooper netted his second of the evening before the break.

"I’m not a ranter or a raver but I turned the place upside down in there to be honest," said McDonnell.

"Players were told it is not acceptable, how can we accept not making tackles while 3-0 down?

"We controlled the whole second half, the opposition know the game is up, but we moved the ball very well and we were bright and didn’t give up anything.

"Any second half substitutes that came in were really good and gave us a proper decision to be made going into Saturday.

"Ultimately decisions will be made around team selection now moving forward and anything I am saying here has been said to the players.

"It needs to be better and performance wasn’t acceptable first half but the second half we can absolutely stomach, tackles, passed the ball well and [were] really aggressive."

McDonnell was also displeased by the refereeing performance, believing there should have been a free-kick in the build-up to Cooper's first and that his team should have had a penalty when still just 1-0 down.

"There were individual errors, however, you need help from the referee team," he added.

"There should have been a free-kick in the lead up to the first goal before the mistake happens.

"They take the lead, and we bounce back well, and then blatant penalty, same here on Saturday, not given [referencing a foul on Peter Campbell] how do you wave advantage there, where is the advantage in that? Brutal decision."

The result means that Glenavon still await their first point of the season after three games.

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Linfield manager says he is 'pleased with the outcome' after his side continued their unbeaten start to the season with a 3-0 victory over Glenavon.

Two goals from Joel Cooper and a close-range strike from Kirk Millar gave the away side a 3-0 lead at the break before a much quieter second half.

"I thought we had a 10-minute spell when we got the goals and then in the second half it was probably a game for the neutral.

"We ticked off what we wanted; we wanted a clean sheet in the second half.

"I think Glenavon probably were slightly better in the second half, they changed their shape a little bit, but I am pleased with the outcome."

Linfield have strengthened their squad by adding Cammy Ballantyne, Charlie Chapman, Sam Roscoe and Scot Whiteside with Healy admitting that it was unlikely there would be more new arrivals to Windsor Park.

"The likelihood is no and that’s me being honest," he conceded.

"I think the business that we have done has been concluded. The squad we have, there are one or two travelling with the squad tonight who hopefully shouldn’t be too far away.

"Squad-wise I feel as though we are ok. Supporters always want new signings, new players, different sorts of players and that’s fine, but I’m more than understanding that the likelihood is that business has been concluded."

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Cliftonville manager Jim Magilton has admitted Dungannon Swifts 'made it very difficult' for his side during their 1-0 victory at Solitude.

The only goal of the game came in the 64th minute after goalkeeper Declan Dunne had parried Shea Gordon's low cross away, but Joe Gormley was able to convert the rebound.

"Firstly, you have to praise how Dungannon went about their business, they made it very difficult for us and they passed the ball very well," Magilton told BBC Sport NI.

"We stuttered for large parts of the first half and the conditions were the same for both teams, but I thought they coped better than we did.

"We weren’t anywhere near our best, that’s quite apparent, but we managed to get it over the line and secure the three points."

Gormley has had an impressive season so far and netted his second goal in two games to secure the three points for the north Belfast side.

"Joe Gormley can be quite in games for so long, but if you put balls in the box or if there is half a chance, it is not a fluke it is just something that he has and something that has happened to Joe over the fantastic, long career he has had.

"One thing about him is he is clinical in those areas and we needed that tonight."

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Dungannon manager Rodney McAree says he is 'really disappointed' after his side's 1-0 defeat against Cliftonville at Solitude.

After a goalless first half, Joe Gormley netted the only goal of the game in the 64th minute to continue Cliftonville's unbeaten run so far this season.

"Really disappointed for the boys as they put a great shift in," McAree told BBC Sport NI.

"We came here and we expressed ourselves and we played. We had quite a few opportunities and we hit the crossbar twice. You probably feel you haven’t got your just rewards.

"Joe Gormley has scored goals all his career and unfortunately tonight we have been on the end of one and it feels a bit like a sucker punch."

The result means that Dungannon are still looking for their first victory of the season after picking up one point in their opening three games.

"I think we have done really well; we have been competitive in all three games," McAree added.

"If we continue going about our business in the manner we did tonight, we’ll pick up points.

"We have just got to believe in what we are doing and stay focused and deliver the performance we did tonight."

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Forward Benji Magee has joined Irish Premiership champions Larne from Loughgall for an undisclosed fee.

The much sought-after 22-year-old netted 16 league goals in Loughgall's first season back in the top division following their promotion from the Championship, forming a prolific partnership with strike partner Nathaniel Ferris.

The pair's goals helped the Villagers to a ninth place finish in the Premiership.

Magee was named NI Football Writers Young Player of the Season and also earned a call-up to Tommy Wright's Under-21 international squad.

He scored one of the goals in Loughgall's 3-0 win over Carrick Rangers at the weekend.

Confirmation of Magee's addition to Larne's squad comes the day after the east Antrim club revealed that they had signed midfielder Jordan McEneff from Derry City.

'Delighted he has chosen Larne'

“Benji is a player we have been tracking for some time," explained Larne manager Tiernan Lynch.

“We know there was a lot of interest in him, but we’re delighted that he has chosen to join us and we’re really looking forward to working with him.

“He is another player who will make the transition into full-time football and we feel that will benefit both him and us. We’re delighted he is here.”

Magee is looking forward to pulling on a Larne shirt for the first time.

“It’s been a bit of hectic 24 hours, but I’m so happy to be here,” he said.

“I was delighted with how last season went, but I’ve come to Larne with the aim of winning trophies and more team awards.

“It’ll take a bit of time getting to adjusted to the full-time environment but I’m just eager to get started and get involved with everything.”

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Portadown boss Niall Currie says his side will have a "great chance" of securing their first win of the new Irish Premiership season against Loughgall on Tuesday if they replicate their "fantastic" performance in Saturday's loss to Glentoran.

While Niall McGinn's injury-time goal robbed the newly-promoted Ports of a point, Currie was buoyed by his players' efforts at Shamrock Park.

Loughgall opened their campaign with a 3-0 win over Carrick Rangers on Saturday, but Currie insists his side are capable of taking three points away from Lakeview Park if they continue on their current trajectory.

"We're on the back of a really good performance, we'll shrug ourselves down but the performance was fantastic," said Currie.

"I don't think anyone would say otherwise. If we perform like that against Loughgall, we have a great chance. I know that for a fact.

"We know how difficult it's going to be. They're a fantastic team at home, but we made it difficult for Glentoran."

He added: "We'll look forward to Tuesday. There's not much time to turn things around but we feel like we're on the back of two positive performances, against Cliftonville and Glentoran."

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As they prepare to go head to head at Solitude on Tuesday evening, neither Cliftonville manager Jim Magilton nor his Dungannon Swifts counterpart Rodney McAree have ruled out making additions to their squads before the transfer window closes next week.

Magilton gave a debut to new striker Destiny Ojo in the closing minutes of Saturday's 2-1 win over Glenavon as he looks to replace the goals lost through the summer departures of Ben Wilson, Rory Hale and Sam Ashford.

The Irish Cup winners are two from two so far this season, with that Dungannon victory coupled with an opening weekend triumph at home to Portadown, but are still on the look out for further reinforcements.

"If a quality player becomes available we should be in the market and will be in the market right up until the window," said Magilton.

McAree, whose side have taken one point from games against Coleraine and Linfield so far, will "hopefully" add to his panel at Stangmore Park but admits it can be difficult to compete with the wages on offer elsewhere.

"It's a difficult market, sometimes we feel as if we're priced out of it a little bit," said the former Glentoran boss.

"It probably comes from players on a full-time model, and fair play to them, but it has a knock-on effect down through the league and sometimes when it gets down to us, the player is priced out of our market.

"We're always looking, we're always looking to improve, and we'll continue to do so until the window shuts."

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Coleraine midfielder Rhyss Campbell believes the club are already seeing the benefit of their switch to full-time football.

The Bannsiders travel to the Oval to face Glentoran on Tuesday buoyed by last week's derby victory over Ballymena that came despite playing for more than half an hour with 10-men after Jamie Glackin's red card.

"It shows the character of the team and we'll be looking to do the same on Tuesday night," said Campbell who scored his side's third in the 4-2 win.

Dean Shiels' side certainly looked the fresher outfit on Friday night, with Matthew Shevlin's goal for the undermanned victors coming deep in injury time, and Campbell credited the side's head of performance Junior Mendes for the increased fitness levels achieved since switching to a full-time model this summer.

"Junior, he's putting us through our paces. He gets us for a while every day in the gym, makes sure we're looked after, and I'd put that down to him.

"Dungannon we finished strong, Ballymena we finished strong, there's hard work going on behind the scenes."

Coleraine, who could have Jamie McGonigle back for the trip to east Belfast, impressed Declan Devine with their work-rate against Ballymena but the Glens boss wants to see his side build on their own late victory over Portadown.

"We know we're in for a really tough scrap on Tuesday," he said.

"I was very impressed by them and their willingness to dig in down to 10 men.

"I can't influence what Dean and his new squad are going to do. We've got to concentrate on what we do and that's being together, working hard, giving everything for the shirt and trying to play on the front foot."

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Ballymena United manager Jim Ervin has questioned the handling of Josh Carson's three-game suspension which will see him miss Tuesday's visit from Crusaders.

The four-times capped former Northern Ireland international was initially shown a yellow card for his challenge on Linfield's Ethan McGee on the opening day of the season but admitted afterwards he "got away" with only a booking.

While Ervin was not debating whether the tackle was worthy of a dismissal, he questioned why word of the retroactive ban came six days later with the news breaking only hours before Carson and his Ballymena team-mates would take on Coleraine on Friday night.

Ervin said the midfielder was initially unsure if he would have to be pulled from the squad for the derby game which the Sky Blues ultimately lost 4-2.

"When it breaks in the press, and the player himself is ringing to ask is he available for selection, it's not great practice," said Ervin.

"The timing could have been right. There was a lot of confusion around the time. Yes, the suspension doesn't kick in to Monday but at the time when the news broke, we weren't aware of that, we hadn't seen the whole details. We weren't sure."

The former Linfield man, in his second season at the Ballymena Showgrounds, is concerned the nature of the punishment will lead to plenty of post-game scrutiny of decisions this season.

"They've now set a standard," he added.

"I hope they remain to that standard throughout the rest of the season. It's going to be a long, long season.

"I just feel like now every tackle is going to be scrutinised. If there's late tackles, any still pictures that are going to go on social media, if that's what the referees are going to be held to, there's going to be a lot of decisions challenged this year."

Ervin added Coleraine winger Andy Scott and Larne defender Sean Brown to his squad on Monday, with the latter set for his second loan stint at the Showgrounds after being at the club for the second half of last season.

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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."