Meanwhile in England, Gareth McAuley has scored for West Brom yet again. With seven strikes, the ever-green former Linfield and Crusaders centre-half is the Baggies' joint top-scorer this season!

Ervin is denied a goal with another goal-line clearance from the Mallards defence! Half-time at Ferney Park and Ballymena have been the better of the two sides after going behind early. Intriguing second-half in prospect. 

Ballinamallard Utd 1-1 Ballymena Utd

Carrick Rangers 0-0 Glenavon

Cliftonville 0-0 Coleraine

Dungannon Swifts 1-1 Ards

Glentoran 0-0 Linfield

Former Irish League striker Chris Morgan believes the Big Two derby is evenly balanced going into the break.

It's fair to say Gerard Lyttle will not have been thrilled by what he's seen so far. The home side have created next to nothing, and changes may be fast coming. 

Action galore at the Oval. Alex Moore is making his senior debut for the Blues and he makes an excellent save to deny Chris Lavery. Linfield then go close with Paul Smyth's shot skimming the outside of the post. Seconds later and Glens midfielder Steven Gordon goes through and his shot beats Moore but Reece Glendinning clears off the line.

Willy Faulkner tries his luck with a volley for the Braidmen but his effort flies just over the bar. 

For the second time in the last ten minutes, Mooney fails to deal with a cross convincingly. The Reds keeper decided to punch a ball from the right when it seemed to safe to catch, leaving his defenders scrambling to clear. 

Will Coleraine capitalise on his fragility and bombard the box with crosses? You can imagine it would be a talking point in the changing room at half-time. 

A nasty clash of heads with teammate David Kee means Gareth McConaghie has been subbed off. It was the second time the Coleraine defender required treatment in the opening 30 minutes. Stephen Douglas comes on to replace him. 

No goals yet but both sides are showing attacking intent. The Glens fail to capitalise from two free-kicks in dangerous positions before Linfield break with speed at the other end. The rain is falling in east Belfast but this is no damp squib so far. 

The visitors get their first real chance after Mooney flaps at a corner, allowing Gareth McConaghie to drill a low effort towards goal. It doesn't make it through the sea of bodies in the way though. 

Captain Jim Ervin comes agonisingly close to giving the Sky Blues the lead, but his deflected effort is deemed not to have crossed the line. 

The Reds finally have a look at goal with a free-kick just outside the box, but Martin Donnelly's effort is a weak one and doesn't come close to clearing the wall. 

Carrick are aiming to bounce back from last weekend's League Cup final defeat by Ballymena, but they are on the backfoot at the Belfast Loughshore Arena.  The visitors are carving out the best chances with Mark Sykes seeing his shot saved by Rangers keeper Brian Neeson.  

Dungannon striker Andrew Mitchell may be leaving Stangmore to join Glenavon at the end of an impressive season, but he's still giving 100% to the Swifts' cause.

The big man turns to shoot in an early attack but Ards keeper Aaron Hogg turns it behind for a corner.