The race for Gibson Cup glory took one fresh turn in the path in midweek and will wind down another on Friday night.
Question marks hanging over Linfield are now Cliftonville’s to bear the brunt of following the visitors’ 3-0 success at Solitude in midweek, as a trio of second-half strikes put the Blues back on the right track again after an inconvenient blip.
And their Big Two rivals Glentoran can do them another favour when they head to Inver Park determined to exploit chinks in Larne’s armour.
The reigning champions are hardly for wilting but will be tested by Warren Feeney’s men, who have had doubts placed upon them given a recent run of blown leads but enter fresh from obliterating Newry City 8-2 in their previous outing.
A first senior hat-trick for Daire O’Connor was the icing on the Glens’ cake, topping off a brace by in-form frontman David Fisher, a Junior penalty and finishes from the energetic Bobby Burns and substitute Charlie Lindsay in a triumph that will have refuelled the east Belfast institution’s competitive juices following successive spurned two-goal advantages against Cliftonville and Carrick Rangers, settling for 2-2 home draws in each.
Routing the basement dwellers at The BetMcLean Oval is a contrast to tackling the title holders on the road, however, and Larne haven’t given opponents an inch in 2024 yet.
Indeed, we are on the eve of March and they still haven’t conceded a goal in the Sports Direct Premiership this year, picking up every point available even if it has come by hook or by crook.
They also defeated Glentoran to wrap up a fourth County Antrim Shield in a row in January, when Fisher’s equaliser at Seaview each way of the winning goals by Cian Bolger and Tomas Cosgrove was both the first they’d conceded in a Shield Final and the last they’ve let in across all competitions.
Feeney’s Glens may well be out of the title reckoning, some 21 points off the pace-setting Invermen who have tasted defeat just once in the league all season and are haven’t lost at home since November 2022, but at this point in the campaign, it’s those on the fringes who can make the biggest difference.
Bill it as revenge if you will, but fourth-placed Glentoran are also unbeaten in 2024 save for their Shield defeat and have seemingly settled on their best starting team with more bodies back fit, including Burns, Luke McCullough and Seanan Clucas.
Larne love a Friday night, however Tiernan Lynch is unlikely to let his team settle for second-best while vultures in north and south Belfast circle.
Linfield, who face Ballymena United in their last weekend of Premiership action until March 16 owing to Irish Cup quarter-final (Institute) and BetMcLean Cup Final (Portadown) involvement, were classy in their return to winning ways on Tuesday night when Kyle McClean, Daniel Finlayson and Chris McKee twisted the knife.
That ended a slump of three without a win, and David Healy will naturally be keen not to let relegation-threatened United rain on their parade at Windsor Park.
Jim Magilton’s Cliftonville, meanwhile, are at Stangmore Park to play Dungannon Swifts, who eliminated them from the BetMcLean Cup and hold outside hopes of a top-six place for the split which is just four matchdays away. That should be tasty.
Featured image from Pacemaker.
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