Irish League Football

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Crusaders and Derry City will join forces to commence legal proceedings over their omission from Stage Two of the Northern Ireland Football Fund.

In September, the Department for Communities announced 20 clubs from across Northern Ireland would progress to the next round of the process with three different tiers of funding available.

Of the 41 clubs eligible to apply, 38 submitted bids, leaving those who missed out bitterly disappointed.

Both Crusaders and Derry City were two to miss out and having considered the decision, jointly confirmed on Wednesday evening they will now lodge legal proceedings against the decision to omit them.

In a statement, Crusaders said: "Following an extra-ordinary general meeting of Crusaders Football Club members on Wednesday, 8 October 2025, Crusaders FC have determined to join Derry City FC to commence legal proceedings to challenge the exclusion of both clubs from Stage 2 of the Northern Ireland Football Fund."

The League of Ireland club expressed similar sentiments.

"Derry City FC have made the decision to join with Crusaders FC to commence legal proceedings to challenge the exclusion of both clubs from Stage 2 of the Northern Ireland Football Fund process," they said in a statement.

"We believe we were left with no other option."

The Stormont Executive has set £36.2m aside, but Communities Minister Gordon Lyons estimated the departmental cost of the 20 projects would come to "just over £82m", while the "estimated total project costs" are £98m.

The big winners were NIFL Premiership clubs Glentoran and Cliftonville who progressed in the third and most expensive tier of over £6m.

The middle bracket of applications between £1.5m to £6m saw 13 successful applications, while five of of less than £1.5m also progressed.

A Department for Communities spokesperson said: "The Department will consider its response to any action being brought as and when it has been formally notified."

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Dungannon Swifts boss Rodney McAree said his side "played with a lot of energy" in their 2-0 home win against Larne.

First-half goals from Tiernan Kelly and Kealan Dillon secured the Swifts' third successive win.

And McAree was delighted with their performance, particularly in the first half.

"I thought we were very good. We started the game brightly, we were on the front foot and we tried to get in Larne's face and squeezed them well," he told BBC Sport NI.

"We played with a lot of energy and overall, I'm very pleased with the two goals and the clean sheet."

The Swifts' upturn in form after a difficult start has coincided with Junior's introduction into the side after arriving late in the window as a free agent, and McAree has been delighted with the striker's displays so far.

"Junior came in at a good time for us, he added a little bit of freshness. We were going through a bad run and we wanted to introduce something different and he has done extremely well," McAree added.

"He gets us high up the pitch, he had weighed in with a couple of goals, looks a threat, has good feet for a big man and he has certainly added to us."

Larne boss Gary Haveron said it was an "incredibly disappointing afternoon" as his side's six-game winning run was brought to a crashing halt.

"We just didn't show up in that first half. We got what we deserved today, which was nothing," he said.

"Too many individual mistakes I suppose and then second half, we huffed, and we puffed and had a lot of possession but didn't really do anything with it."

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Portadown boss Niall Currie praised his side's second-half display as they came from a goal down to beat rivals Glenavon 3-1 at Shamrock Park.

Teenager Luke McGerrigan scored an early opener for Glenavon, but the Ports fought back in the second half with goals from Luke Wilson, Steven McCullough and Ben Quinn helping the hosts to pick up all three points.

"I thought we thoroughly deserved it, even coming in 1-0 down at half-time, I felt we were hard done by," Currie said.

"We controlled most of that first half after conceding a poor goal. We do like to give ourselves mountains to climb sometimes, and that was another one tonight, but in the second half, we raised our levels, kicked on again and got what we deserved.

"Once the first goal went in, you could feel the momentum shift. We had a great effort saved just before that, and you sensed it was coming.

"We talked at half-time about staying calm - no panic, just keep doing the right things. The three goals we scored were fully justified."

Currie also singled out Ryan Mayse for praise as the forward assisted the first two goals.

"I thought this was the perfect game for him. Ryan's been coming off the bench most of the season, but tonight felt right to start him. He's produced two brilliant assists, and that's fantastic," Currie added.

"Sometimes it's horses for courses - if you expect to have more of the ball, you need that bit of creativity, that spark to open things up.

I felt this game would suit him, and it turned out exactly that way. His quality on the ball made a real difference for us."

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Ballymena United boss Jim Ervin was pleased that his side were able to fight back from a goal down to beat Carrick Rangers 2-1 at Taylors Avenue.

Kym Nelson cancelled out Nedas Maciulaitis opener, before Ryan McNickle completed the comeback with a low finish as the Sky Blues got back to winning ways.

"Delighted to get the three points the conditions were absolutely awful, it wasn't a day for any sort of football. It was a day to play the conditions and thankfully we got the three points," Ervin told BBC Sport NI.

"I'm not sure of what the stat is but it is not pleasant from ourselves going a goal behind and coming back to win, but we showed a lot of character and other than the first 15 minutes, we were on top and were good value for the three points."

McNickle and Daire O'Connor were handed first starts of the season and both impressed, with Ervin happy that they contributed to the victory after they had to bide their time for minutes following summer moves to the Showgrounds.

"For one reason or another they haven't made the squads. They have had to work hard away from the place and be patient and it's two different scales," he explained.

"One [McNickle] is stepping up two levels, and one [O'Connor] is coming back from full-time football and is finding it difficult to adjust, so there have been key factors around them not participating.

"We haven't felt the opportunity was right, but we had to freshen things up and those two boys did well today."

Carrick Rangers boss Stephen Baxter was frustrated that his side slipped to a fourth successive defeat, despite the fact they were well in the game.

"We were very competitive, I felt we could have been three goals to the good at half-time with the chances we had. It was a hair's breadth between the two teams," he said.

"We haven't done enough second half, our second half performance wasn't as good as our first."

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Bangor assistant John Douglas said he was "really proud" of his players as they held on to beat Coleraine 2-1 despite playing the majority of the second half with 10 men.

The Seasiders raced into a two-goal lead at the break at Clandeboye Park, courtesy of efforts from Jay Boyd and Ben Arthurs.

But, just a few minutes into the second half, Harry Lynch was dismissed after receiving a second yellow card and Zane Okoro then pulled a goal back for the Bannsiders.

Despite relentless Coleraine pressure, Bangor held on for a big win that moves them into the top half of the table.

"I'm delighted for the players, who put in such a shift. First half, I thought we were super, we were fully deserving of the two-goal lead. We then got a man sent off and the character the boys showed to get a result was unbelievable," Douglas told BBC Sport NI.

"Really proud of the players, we know the leaders in that changing room and everyone did their roles to a tee.

"We restricted Coleraine to very few chances with a man less. They had long-range efforts and crosses into the box, and we defended the box really well."

Bannsiders boss Ruaidhri Higgins was left to reflect on a "frustrating" afternoon in which his side failed to really get going and gave away poor goals.

"It's disappointing, we had the majority of the game in their half, but we gave them something to hang on to. We conceded a really poor goal from a set play. Then, they hit us on the counter attack for the second," he said.

"We are giving away too many cheap goals, and we need to eradicate that.

We have had ample opportunities to win the game. We got into so many good areas and hit the woodwork a few times, it's frustrating."

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Both of Friday's Irish Premiership games have now been postponed with confirmation the meeting of Linfield and Crusaders has fallen victim to Storm Amy.

The Windsor Park clash was initially given the all-clear but at 17:30 BST, the Northern Ireland Football League announced the game "has now been postponed following stadium safety concerns raised by the home club".

Linfield also confirmed their game is off "due to health and safety concerns at the stadium".

Earlier on Friday, the NIFL confirmed the fixture between Cliftonville and leaders Glentoran at Solitude - due to be shown live on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website - was off off at Glentoran's request "due to several players and staff residing and travelling from an amber warning zone".

The revised plan to broadcast the Linfield v Crusaders game has now also fallen victim to the weather.

The Women's Premiership game between Lisburn Ladies and Crusaders has also been called off.

There is an amber warning for high winds in parts of Northern Ireland, issued due to the arrival of Storm Amy.

The remaining weekend fixtures will be assessed on Saturday.

Earlier on Friday, Derry City's League of Ireland Premier Division game against Sligo Rovers at the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium was rescheduled for Sunday, 5 October at 16:00 BST.

The teams were due to meet on Friday evening, but a decision to reschedule due to the storm was taken in conjunction with the local council, police force and both clubs.

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Linfield have reached the second round of the BetMcLean Cup with a 2-0 win over Queen's University at Windsor Park.

Chris McKee, who had an early effort ruled out, opened the scoring when he headed home Charlie Allen's cross in the 18th minute.

Queen's University, who have impressed since they earned promotion to the Championship, had a chance to equalise when Tommy Smyth's header forced David Walsh into a save.

McKee struck the woodwork shortly before the interval but Matt Yates added a second for David Healy's side in the 51st minute from Sam Taylor's cross.

Holders Cliftonville take on Coagh United in one of 14 first round ties on Tuesday, 7 October, while Ards' tie with Dungannon Swifts completes the last 32 on Wednesday, 8 October.

In a change for this year's competition, the winners of the BetMcLean Cup will automatically go into the Irish Premiership's European play-off final from next season.

First round fixtures

Tuesday, 30 September

Linfield 2-0 Queen's University

Tuesday, 7 October

Armagh City v Carrick Rangers

Ballymena United v Ballinamallard United

Bangor v Lisburn Distillery

Cliftonville v Coagh United

Crusaders v Ballymacash Rangers

Dergview v Larne

Dollingstown v Coleraine

H&W Welders v Dundela

Institute v Glentoran

Loughgall v Strabane Athletic

Moyola Park v Annagh United

Newington v Limavady United

Newry City v Portadown

Warrenpoint Town v Glenavon

Wednesday, 8 October

Ards v Dungannon Swifts

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Striker Davy McDaid and defender Niall Quinn will form part of Glenavon's interim management team, the club have announced.

The Lurgan Blues parted ways with boss Paddy McLaughlin on Sunday following a poor start to the season that has left them bottom of the table and winless in their first nine games.

Members of McLaughlin's coaching staff, including Colin Coates, have also departed the club following his dismissal.

In a statement on Wednesday, the club confirmed that McDaid and Quinn, along with coaches Tim Lennon and Ryan Prentice, will form the interim management team for their game against rivals Portadown on Saturday at Shamrock Park.

Glenavon chairman Stephen Best added that the board "will choose carefully" when appointing their next manager after inviting applications for the role on Monday.

"For the record the Glenavon board of directors met after the game on Saturday against Crusaders," he said in a statement.

"Unfortunately, due to poor performances the board decided it was now time for a change of management team.

"We thank Paddy and his staff for their efforts and wish them well for the future.

"The decision about who will be the new manager is important, and the board will carefully choose the best candidate who applies.

"Glenavon needs the support of the fans more than ever. The players need to hear that support on match day.

"It is a massive game against Portadown at Shamrock Park this weekend. No better place to kick off a run of good results."

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Glentoran returned to the top of the Women's Premiership table as they eased to an 8-1 win against Lisburn Rangers at the Blanchflower Stadium on Sunday.

In their first game of the split, the Glens went ahead on 20 minutes as Emily Wilson stroked low into the corner after a lay off from Nadene Caldwell.

Kascie Weir doubled their advantage 11 minutes later as she steered home a header from a Jenna McKearney cross.

Wilson got her second and Glentoran's third as she tucked home after latching onto Faye Loughran's delivery.

Weir netted again two minutes later before Wilson completed her hat-trick in style before the break.

Weir netted her third soon after the restart before Helen Parker scored a consolation goal for the visitors.

A late double from Mia Moore rounded off the ruthless victory for Kim Turner's side, who are now two points ahead of Cliftonville with two games remaining.

Glentoran face rivals Linfield next before a final day showdown with the Reds, in what could be a winner takes all game.