Summary

  • Ballymena United 3-1 Glenavon

  • Cliftonville 0-0 Coleraine

  • Dungannon Swifts 0-0 Glentoran

  • Linfield 1-2 Crusaders

  • Warrenpoint Town 3-3 Ards

Live Reporting

Stephen Alexander and Michael Morrow

  1. That's all folks...and a Happy New Year

    So 2017 will end with Coleraine's lead down to two points as the Crues continue to close in on Oran Kearney's Bannsiders.

    Who knows whether we will look back on the final round of fixtures in 2017 as being a crucial day at the end of the campaign?

    One thing we can say is that Linfield are surely now out of contention to retain their title after suffering a seventh defeat of the campaign. The Blues are 16 points behind Coleraine and also 14 adrift of the Crues.

    We hope one and all of you enjoy the New Year festivities before joining us again on Monday afternoon at 14:00 GMT as Coleraine host Linfield with Crusaders travelling to Ballinamallard United and Carrick Rangers welcoming Dungannon Swifts.

  2. Haveron says Glens could have nicked win

    Dungannon Swifts 0-0 Glentoran

    In the first half, we let them dictate possession far too much but after half-time, we came at them and we were camped in their half the whole second half. Probably a draw is a fair result when you look at the course of the game but we were well on top in the second half and I felt we could have taken a chance.

    Gary Haveron, Glentoran manager

  3. McAree 'frustrated' after Dungannon draw

    Dungannon Swifts 0-0 Glentoran

    I'm frustrated we didn't win the game because we deserved to. We were the better side and created the better opportunities. Ally Teggart and Chris Hegarty had really good chances in the first half and we hit the post late on. Paul McElroy had a headed chance in the second half as well. They picked a big, physical side but we defended set-pieces exceptionally well and our two central defenders were excellent.

    Rodney McAree, Dungannon Swifts manager

  4. A Whyte Christmas and a Happy New Year!

    Gavin Whyte's winner for Crusaders against Linfield was his 13th league goal of the season, making him the Irish Premiership's top scorer

    Gavin WhyteBBC Sport NI

  5. And at the bottom...

    All teams sitting in the bottom half of the table drew, with the only change of position coming as Ballymena move above Glentoran after their victory over Glenavon.

    Irish Premiership Bottom SixBBC Sport NI

  6. Gray 'gutted' as Reds draw with Coleraine

    Cliftonville 0-0 Coleraine

    I'm gutted we didn't win it. The performance from the boys today was first class. We asked them for a reaction after the performances in the last two games and today we had a 90 minutes that was the best of the season so far. We had some glorious chances and on another day if you score one of those, it could be two, three or four.

    Barry Gray, Cliftonville manager

  7. Here's how it stands at the top

    Crusaders cut Coleraine's lead at the summit of the Irish Premiership table to just two points while Cliftonville and Ballymena both jump up a place in the table.

    Irish Premiership top sixBBC Sport NI

  8. What they said

    Ballymena United 3-1 Glenavon

    It just wasn't our day today. The things we have been very good at this season - imposing ourselves on other teams, stopping them playing and being influential in the game - we haven't done those today and you've got to give Ballymena a lot of credit for stopping us playing. We had set ourselves a target of winning as many, if possible all, of the games over the festive period and after six points and two good performances, it's a bitter pill to swallow.

    Jonny Tuffey, Glenavon captain

  9. Baxter praises match winner Whyte

    Linfield 1-2 Crusaders

    I think he [Gavin Whyte] has been the match winner for the last five games. His second half performance was just sensational really. But our whole team got a lift, they were all passing and keeping the ball really well, not like in the first 20 minutes because we were rubbish. It's good to get a result here of course because this is a difficult place to come.

    Stephen Baxter, Crusaders manager

  10. Healy unhappy with 'sloppy' goals

    Linfield 1-2 Crusaders

    We should have cleared it from the first phase. We didn’t do enough and didn’t get tight enough to him to stop the shot. We let him have a free shot, it’s a wonderful strike but the mistakes leading up the goal were the disappointing thing. The second goal is kids stuff really, I don’t think we had two people tackle in their half in the second half but then we tackle each other and the ball drops. Fair play to Gavin Whyte, he’s alert and expecting a mistake.

    David Healy, Linfield Manager

  11. What they said

    Warrenpoint Town 3-3 Ards

    I'm going to stick by the boys, I'm not going to throw them under the bus or anything, but I've told them that something has to change, whether it be personnel or what because I can't look back at those highlights today and think that is acceptable. Conceding three goals a game every week, we're not going to get anywhere near where we need to be.

    Matthew Tipton, Warrenpoint Town manager

  12. What they said

    Warrenpoint Town 3-3 Ards

    From a fan's point of view it was a great game of football to watch at this time of the year but from a manager's point of view, it was a bit of a heart attack. I thought we were excellent in the first half but in the second half, Warrenpoint were putting us under quite a bit of pressure so I think a draw was a fair result.

    Darren Nixon, Ards assistant manager

  13. Kearney settles for point

    Cliftonville 0-0 Coleraine

    Coming into the game, we were under-strength because a few of our players have flu so I would probably have taken a point. Sometimes you have to take a point and move on. If you look at the game and the chances count, Cliftonville had a lot more than ourselves although Eoin Bradley did have two good chances at crucial times of the contest. The red card (Aaron Traynor's) was really dubious, crazy really and the character we showed after that was fantastic.

    Oran Kearney, Coleraine manager

  14. Jeffrey thrilled with win over Glenavon

    Ballymena United 3-1 Glenavon

    It's well-documented that we're down to the bare bones in regards to numbers and we knew it was going to be a tough ask for us but we asked the players to stand up, to battle and challenge and we got that in abundance, while we played some decent football as well.

    David Jeffrey, Ballymena United manager

  15. What they said

    Linfield 1-2 Crusaders

    The belief has always been there. We've won the league two of the last three years and finished a close second last year. We added to our squad and yes we had a couple of dodgy results early on but every team has that in a season. Thankfully ours came at a good time if you like, at the start of the season. We've been motoring since Glenavon beat us and it's a matter of keeping it going for as long as we can.

    Colin Coates, Crusaders captain

  16. MBE - a more brilliant entertainment

    A good listen

    Radio Ulster summariser Liam Beckett was awarded an MBE in the Queen's New Year Honours List.

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  17. FULL-TIME

    Cliftonville 0-0 Coleraine

    Rory Donnelly has another late Reds chance but his header is straight at Chris Johns as the 10-man leaders hold on for a draw. Eoin Bradley did miss two chances for Coleraine but in truth, Cliftonville have battered the Bannsiders. Bannsiders boss Oran Kearney should be grateful for the point but concerned at his team's performance today. Their lead is now down to two points with second-placed Crusaders having a game in hand.

  18. Final scores

    How they finished

    Irish Prem FTBBC Sport NI

  19. FULL-TIME

    Ballymena United 3-1 Glenavon

    A rousing second half performance from Ballymena helps them to their first league victory over Glenavon in almost four years.

    As an added bonus, the win takes Ballymena back above Glentoran and into the top six but the defeat is a setback to Glenavon's recent progress.

  20. FULL-TIME

    Warrenpoint Town 3-3 Ards

    Liam McKenna's injury-time goal - after Ards keeper Sam Johnston had spilled the ball - earns Warrenpoint a much-needed point.

    Ards manager Colin Nixon will be gutted at conceding so late on but seven points out of nine over the Christmas period is a good return for his side.