Irish League Football

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Larne interim manager Gary Haveron has praised his side for their run of five consecutive clean sheets during their run of five successive wins in the Irish Premiership.

That impressive run has seen the Invermen challenge near the top of the league table, with a derby against east Antrim neighbours Carrick Rangers next up for Haveron's side on Saturday.

"I absolutely believe the cornerstone of any good team is clean sheets and that's our fifth on the bounce," Haveron told BBC Sport NI after watching his charges defeat Crusaders 4-0 on Tuesday.

"When we don't concede goals and we're ruthless in the box then we'll always have a chance in the game because we've got so many exciting talented players going forward.

"We've still got Paul O'Neill to come back in the mix, we've still got Leroy Millar to come back in, and Dylan Sloan. Aaron Donnelly's got one more game to serve of his suspension and then he comes back in, so it bodes really well that we have four excellent players on the cusp of coming back into the set-up."

With those players nearing a return, Haveron has urged the players currently in possession of shirts to make it difficult for him to drop them from the team.

"I said to the lads who are in there that when you have the shirt don't give it up easy, keep the shirt and make it a real problem for me to leave you out.

"I think the boys are definitely doing that with the level of performance.

"We've got strength and depth within the squad and we're capable of changing how we play to accommodate some of our best players.

"I'm excited about it. It gives me more options and that's only a good thing."

The interim Larne boss has praised the performances of central defensive pairing Matt Ridley and Ryan Nolan, who have excelled in the absence of Donnelly.

"Matt has been a rock for us at the back, alongside Ryan. The two of them have been absolutely outstanding.

"I couldn't have asked any more of the two boys. They're so committed, they train so hard. There's zero management to managing the two lads. They are very dedicated and committed."

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While acknowledging Friday's home assignment against Glentoran is "mouth-watering", Coleraine manager Ruaidhri Higgins says they will approach the game like any other (19:45 BST, live on BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport website).

It is a meeting of the Irish Premiership's last remaining unbeaten teams with the Glens holding a slender one-point lead over Friday's opposition and Larne at the top of the table. Coleraine are just below the Invermen on goal difference, but have a game in hand on the league leaders.

Both clubs have made a good start to the new season and although the opportunity to go top with a win on Friday would be welcome, Higgins insists this stage of a campaign is just about banking points.

"I'd imagine it will be a massive crowd at the Showgrounds on Friday night with the lights on," he told BBC Sport NI after Saturday's 4-1 win at Portadown.

"It's mouth-watering, but we will prepare for it the way we prepare for any game and make sure the lads are ready.

"We want to win the game and get as many points on the board as soon as possible. It's another three points on offer and we are coming up against a good team. May the best team win."

Glentoran's previous outing was last week's 1-1 draw against Linfield at the Oval and manager Declan Devine has urged his players to seek improvements as the season progresses.

The Glens' boss will have Christie Pattisson available for the first time this season, having served a nine-game suspension from the the post-match brawl against Larne on the final day of the last campaign.

"We're just trying to go game by game," Devine said after the 'Big Two' derby.

"We have players to come back. That's the end of Christie Pattisson's suspension, Dylan (Connolly) will be back in another three or four games, Joe Thomson.

"We need to make sure we prepare really well and strive to get better, week by week. We've a tough game now and will get ready to go to Coleraine."

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Linfield manager David Healy said Tuesday's 1-0 defeat at Ballymena United was "frustrating and disappointing."

The Blues enjoyed plenty of possession but couldn't turn pressure into points as Matthew Clarke's 21st-minute goal was enough to condemn the defending champions to their first defeat of the league campaign.

Healy felt his team did a lot right, but a lack quality in attack to get back on terms would ultimately see them come away empty handed from the Showgrounds.

"We had so many final third entries tonight and couldn't capitalise on them," Healy told BBC Sport NI.

"You empty the bench and put the attackers on hoping for the clinical finish, but we didn't get that. We had 11 corners and never looked a threat.

"We had other bits and pieces, fluffed shots, half shots and didn't work hard enough in the final third. We didn't pick the right pass, the weight of pass was off. You can have as much possession as you like, but Ballymena managed the game.

"I can't fault the players' efforts as they played the way we want them to play, but in the attacking third we just didn't do enough."

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Crusaders manager Declan Caddell says his players will relish Tuesday's trip to Larne (19:45 BST) as they seek to build on the weekend win against Dungannon Swifts.

The 3-0 win over last season's Irish Cup winners halted a four-game losing streak in all competitions, but they face a much sterner test on Tuesday with the Invermen making it four victories on the bounce with a 2-0 win at Bangor on Saturday.

Caddell is hoping his team's performance against Dungannon will prove to be a spark as he seeks consistency.

"It's another huge game, but those are the games we want to be involved in," he told BBC Sport NI after Saturday's win.

"We've got a lot of new players here, and it'll be good for them to test themselves against Larne. The original fixture was postponed earlier in the season, so at least we can catch up.

"For me, today was the pinnacle of what we want: an all-round team performance, defensively and going forward. Now we need to carry that through week after week, but going to Larne will be a different game."

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Larne interim manager Gary Haveron says his side will need to be back to its best when they host Crusaders in Tuesday night's rearranged Irish Premiership game at Inver Park.

The Invermen made it four league wins in a row and four successive clean sheets in achieving those victories when they saw off bottom-of-the-table Glenavon 1-0 on Saturday.

Mark Randall had his penalty saved by Jacob Carney just after the half-hour mark but central defender Matthew Ridley headed in the winner for the east Belfast side nine minutes from time to condemn the Lurgan Blues to a seventh straight defeat.

"The performance maybe wasn't everything I wanted it to be but the boys found a way to win and that's a really good trait to have as a team," Haveron told BBC Sport NI after the game.

"You've got to keep on asking questions and keep knocking on the door.

"We got the all-important goal and another clean sheet."

Crusaders bounced back from their recent indifferent form by clinching a 3-0 win at Dungannon Swifts on Saturday and Haveron is expecting a difficult task against Declan Caddell's team.

"They are maybe not quite as direct as they once were but you know what the Crues are about. You know what Deccie's about.

"He'll want his players fully committed and going at it.

"They'll take confidence from their win at Dungannon as the Swifts were coming off their first win the previous week, so we know it's going to be a really tough ask.

"We'll have to be back to our best. I'm expecting a better level of performance than we got against Glenavon but if we get the same result I'll be just as happy."

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Glentoran returned to the top of the Women's Premiership table with a comfortable 3-0 win against rivals Linfield at the Blanchflower Stadium.

Emily Wilson latched onto a ball over the top from Demi Vance on 16 minutes to prod home the opener for the hosts.

Vance was provider again for their second goal six minutes after the break, floating in a cross which Aimee Kerr met with a looping header over Lauren Currie.

Wilson wrapped up the win and the valuable three points with her second and Glentoran's third as she finished from close range.

The victory sees Glentoran leap Cliftonville into top spot and they hold a two-point lead over the Reds heading into the split.

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Carrick forward Paul Heatley has been discharged from hospital after being injured in his side's game against Bangor on Saturday.

The 38-year-old collided with the wall surrounding the pitch at Taylors Avenue eight minutes into the second half.

He received treatment at the side of the pitch and was taken to hospital after being placed into the ambulance on a stretcher.

The decision was then made to abandon the fixture by referee Christopher Morrison as there was no ambulance in place after Heatley was transported from the ground.

In a statement on the club's website on Sunday, the club said: "Carrick Rangers can confirm that Paul Heatley was discharged from hospital late last night.

"He is currently recuperating at home with his family.

"Paul and Carrick Rangers would like to thank everyone involved with his care, and for all the messages of support."

Carrick boss Stephen Baxter said on Saturday he felt it was the "right decision" to abandon the game and his players "were not keen to play on".

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Ballymena United manager Jim Ervin refused to comment on the wrongful dismissal of Stephen O'Donnell in his side's eventful 3-2 defeat against Cliftonville at Solitude.

The Reds fought back to lead 2-1 midway through the second half and were then awarded a penalty after a handball in the box by Ben Kennedy.

In a case of mistaken identity, referee Louise Thompson showed a second yellow card to O'Donnell, but Ervin did not believe it ultimately contributed to the Sky Blues' late defeat as they fought back to level before Jack Keaney scored a late free-kick to win it for the Reds.

"I think the whole stadium saw what happened, so I have no more to say on the matter," he told BBC Sport NI.

"The one thing I would say is it didn't cost us the game, they miss the penalty, and we get it back to 2-2 so I'd rather not talk about it."

Ervin was delighted with his side's first-half display, with a Michael Glynn own goal giving them a half-time lead at Solitude.

He was then however, frustrated with their defending for Ademayo Fapetu's equaliser and O'Donnell's own goal which put the hosts in front as well as the concession of the free-kick Keaney scored from.

"I thought first half we were outstanding, the game plan worked. We went in 1-0 up but we knew we would get a reaction second half, we spoke about but within 10 minutes we were 2-1 down," he added.

"It's not good enough, we don't stop the crosses, and we don't defend our box. You can't use the excuse it was young boys, there was plenty of experience in our back four.

"We don't need to give the free-kick away but it is what it is, we have lost the game. We worked desperately hard to get it back to 2-2 and if we got a point, it would have been deserved. To lose it the way we have, it is gutting and hard to take."

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Linfield manager David Healy said he thought his side "were the better team" in Friday's 1-1 Irish Premiership draw with Glentoran at the Oval but "didn't get their rewards".

Pat Hoban's penalty had the hosts one goal to the good at the interval but Chris Shields' spot-kick in the second half restored parity.

"A brilliant advertisement, two teams going at it," reflected the Blues boss in an interview with BBC Sport NI after the game.

"We kept going and were rewarded with at least an equaliser. We were down here last year and huffed and puffed and didn't get the equaliser, but we did tonight.

"On reflection, I thought towards the end of the game we were the team looking in the ascendancy and that were going to score."

Linfield dominated the early stages of the game and Kieran Offord and Matthew Fitzpatrick both had chances to put their side in front, the former being denied by a fine save from Andrew Mills and the latter skewing his effort wide of the post.

"Hindsight of course you want your strikers to score but I think Kieran did well for his and maybe Matthew snatched at his a bit, it was so early in the game, I don't know but our general play was better and momentum was with us in the second half."

Both penalties were controversial awards with Kirk Millar looking to have made minimal contact with James Singleton for the first and the foul by Marcus Kane on Fitzpatrick for the second looking to have begun outside the area.

"I'll speak with my Linfield hat on, I thought the first wasn't and the second was a stonewall!.

But credit to Ben [McMaster the referee], these games aren't easy to manage and I thought in general he got most things right.

"There were one or two corners we could have had with little deflections, I picked up my customary yellow card, but that's the fire, I want to win here."

Healy described the feeling in the Linfield camp after the game:

"The boys are OK. In our dressing room we never get too high, we never get too low. There wasn't too much of a conversation, we take the point and move on we have Ballymena on Tuesday.

"I thanked them for their level of performance, their attitude towards their performance. There were a lot of questions about our performances and results last year against Glentoran even though we won the league by 20 plus points.

"We lost a few battles along the way, we lost one or two to other teams, but it is always highlighted a bit more when it is Glentoran. At the end what was most pleasing for me was we won when and where we needed to win."