There’s no stopping Linfield and Larne at the top of the table, with both sides barely breaking a sweat on their way to comprehensively hitting their visitors for six at the weekend.
The Blues swatted away the challenge of Newry City at Windsor Park but they were matched goal for goal by the Invermen, who swept aside Glenavon with ruthless efficiency during the early knockings of the contest in particular.
Lee Bonis loves a goal – or two, or three, or four for that matter – against the Lurgan Blues; the Portadown man’s mid-Ulster allegiance would still seem to be beyond question given his quartet which sank Stephen McDonnell’s visitors marked a third match ball collected for his efforts against them this season. That hasn’t happened often through the Irish League archives.
That’s 11 in total for Bonis, acquired from the Ports in January 2022 for a reported £100,000 fee, across the four meetings with Glenavon in league and cup this term, with the Northern Ireland call-up’s contributing accompanied by two from flying Scotsman Andy Ryan which pegged him joint top of the Sports Direct Premiership scoring chart alongside 22-year-old Cliftonville marksman Ben Wilson.
Ryan’s sweet 17 in the top-flight this campaign have continued to spearhead Tiernan Lynch’s reigning champions, who have still lost only once on that front and are approaching a full six months since their late loss to Loughgall at Lakeview Park in September.
Lynch’s men look imperious, but then again, Saturday proved a tale of anything you can do, we can do too – or, in Linfield’s case, what you can’t do.
Larne’s six didn’t quite go unblemished, even if five goals between the 12th and 25th minutes had very early on ended a contest that later saw the hosts’ Sean Graham and visitors’ Peter Campbell red-carded.
Len O’Sullivan’s strike six minutes out from half-time did dash the clean sheet – the first league finish Larne have conceded in 2024 – while their rivals-in-chief down in south Belfast kept the ‘0’ on the Windsor scoreboard present from minute one to 90 against Newry.
On a day that saw Jordan Stewart return to senior action for the first time in over a year, Linfield also long since had the points in the bag by the time he was drafted in 14 from time.
Striker Matthew Fitzpatrick’s deadlock-breaker on 13 minutes was followed by a Kyle McClean strike on the half-hour, while Kirk Millar’s penalty and Fra McCaffrey’s own goal ensured that David Healy’s battlers were in no danger of an unwelcome surprise by the time the interval arrived.
There was no reprieve for Barry Gray’s Newry – still just two points from Ballymena United in the play-off position with one pre-split clash remaining – when first Jamie Mulgrew and then Braiden Graham, two players split by 21 years in age but still with the same instincts to make a mark, made it absolutely safe before Stewart replaced Fitzpatrick for the last quarter-hour.
There’s still time for the man nicknamed ‘Sucka’ to make a deciding impact in the split, and it has been a trait of his in recent years to pop up when you least expect him to – or, indeed, if he has a chip on his shoulder – but easing him in was Healy’s main priority last weekend.
Besides, with the Blues (75) two points from Larne (77), there’s still the scope for twists and turns, and the post-split is unrelenting regardless of what form the teams involved are in.
It’s set up for a race that could shatter the nerves and go to the dying embers. The end of this story’s not been written yet.
Featured image from Linfield FC website.
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