Larne win to extend lead at top as Glens beat Blues

Larne came from behind to beat Carrick Rangers 2-1 and extend their lead at the top of the Irish Premiership table to six points on Friday as Glentoran beat Linfield at Windsor Park on Boxing Day for the first time ever.

Paul Heatley gave Carrick the lead in the east Antrim derby at Taylors Avenue but two late goals in the space of three minutes from Tiarnan O'Connor and Paul O'Neill ensured the pacesetters went home with maximum points.

Joe Thomson's first-half long-range strike proved decisive as the Glens won 1-0 to make it two league wins in a row and leapfrog their opponents into third in the standings.

A goal in each half from Daire O'Connor gave Ballymena United a 2-0 victory over Coleraine at the Warden Street Showgrounds, Oran Kearney securing his first win as manager of the Sky Blues, against his former club.

Ryan Curran's own goal gave Crusaders the lead over Cliftonville in the first half of the north Belfast derby at Solitude, with Adam Brooks adding the second to complete a 2-0 win after the interval.

Luke Wilson grabbed the winner in Portadown's 1-0 home success over Glenavon and Adam Glenny's early goal saw Dungannon Swifts past Bangor 1-0 at Stangmore Park.

Larne are unbeaten in 11 league games after defeating Carrick Rangers in their derby, having accumulated nine wins and two draws in that sequence.

The home side started brightly and Adam Lecky forced Larne keeper Rohan Ferguson into a fine diving save to his right after Danny Gibson picked him out at the far post with a good cross.

Benjamin Buchanan-Rolleston shot low across the face of goal while Paul Heatley also went close as Carrick Rangers pressed..

At the other end, skipper Leroy Millar was proving Larne's main attacking threat and he twice tested Nathan Gartside from distance.

And he turned provider moments before half-time when he slipped the ball through for Jordan McEneff whose goal bound effort was well saved by Gartside.

Benji Magee fired a shot just over the crossbar while Heatley saw his effort hacked off the goal line just before the break.

The deadlock was broken 11 minutes into the second half thanks to Paul Heatley's fifth league goal of the season, a fine individual effort.

Billy Joe Burns did brilliantly to win the ball inside his own half before playing his striker in behind the Larne defence with a beautiful pass with the outside of his right foot.

His erstwhile Crusaders colleague still had plenty to do but he raced clear of the defence before calmly lifting the ball over Ferguson into an unguarded net.

The league leaders drew level with just over 10 minutes remaining, second half sub O'Connor firing a low right shot from distance into the bottom corner.

And the comeback was complete just three minutes later when O'Neill showed a striker's instinct to poke home Jordan McEneff's low cross from the right on what could be a pivotal day in the title race.

Bragging rights belong to Glentoran who beat Big Two rivals Linfield for the very first time in a Boxing Day derby at their rivals' ground since the festive fixtures were introduced in 1989.

Thomson's first half stunner earned a huge win for the Glens, with David Healy's side falling to two successive Irish Premiership defeats.

After a fairly even opening 25 minutes, the visitors began to get a foothold of the game and hit the front in spectacular style just before the half hour mark.

Thomson was afforded too much time and space in midfield as he ran forward and let fly with a powerful right-footed strike from distance, which nestled in the top corner for a 'goal of the season' contender.

The Glens almost doubled their lead 10 minutes into the second half, but Chris Johns produced a fine stop to deny Jordan Jenkins from doubling the visitors' lead.

The Blues continued to go in search of an equaliser, but were unable to create any meaningful chances.

Ballymena clinched a first top flight win in six matches as Coleraine went down to a fourth defeat in seven Premiership outings.

The home side went in front on 12 minutes when Kian Corbally slipped a clever through ball behind full-back Lyndon Kane for O'Connor to run onto.

The winger initially looked to have taken a heavy first touch but he recovered to stretch and poke the ball beyond advancing Coleraine keeper Ryan Schofield.

Coleraine almost equalised in first half stoppage time when substitute Jamie McGonigle cut inside and his curling shot was touched onto the top of the crossbar by Sean O'Neill.

In the second period, Cameron Stewart got his head on a Will Patching corner but O'Neill was able to flick the ball over the bar.

The home side doubled their lead on 67 minutes when Corbally once again found O'Connor on the left hand side of the penalty and he ran through to confidently slot past Schofield.

Despite Coleraine dominating possession, they were unable to seriously test O'Neill as Ballymena kept a clean sheet for the first time in 14 league games.

At Solitude, the visitors fashioned the first clear opening when PJ Morrison raced from his line to smother at the feet of Brooks, before Odhran Casey slid in with a superb last-ditch challenge to deny Finlay Thorndike with the goal gaping.

The Crues threatened again when Rory Hale was dispossessed inside the Cliftonville half, allowing Fraser Bryden's low effort to spill into the path of Thorndike, but the home side scrambled back to clear their lines.

Just before the half-hour mark, the visitors made the breakthrough as Thorndike's corner sparked chaos in the penalty area, with Ryan Curran inadvertently heading into his own net.

Into first-half stoppage time, Casey picked out Joe Sheridan at the back post, and his cut-back found Eric McWoods, who looked certain to score until Jordan Forsythe produced a vital goal-line clearance.

Midway through the second half, Jack Keaney almost levelled after bending a free-kick from 25 yards that seemed destined for the bottom corner, but Musa Dibaga reacted superbly, producing a fingertip save at full stretch to claw it away and preserve the Crues' lead.

With four minutes remaining, Brooks wrapped up the points with a clinical finish at the back post from a Crusaders corner for his fifth league goal of the season.

Deep into stoppage time, Casey pulled a goal back with a close-range header from Michael Glynn's corner, but it proved too little, too late for Jim Magilton's men.

A Wilson header in the 36th minute was enough for Portadown to claim all three points at home to bottom-of-the table Glenavon.

Steven McCullough saw his corner kick almost go directly into the back of the net, but for the fingertips of Glenavon keeper Jacob Carney.

But the resulting corner did find its way into the back of the net when the ball was met by a powerful Wilson header.

Towards the end of the first half, Portadown fans were sure their side had won a penalty when Carney collided with the onrushing Eamon Fyfe in the Glenavon area

The referee waved play on and Carney went on to be replaced by Sean Hamill at half time after picking up an injury in that collision.

There then followed a prolonged half-time break after an issue with the floodlights.

The floodlights had seemingly been serviced during the week but an apparent issue with the oil filter had caused concern and a 15-minute delay ensued.

After the floodlights were sorted and a second half short on quality followed.

Glenavon shaded the second half and came very close through a Paul McGovern effort that was smartly saved by Aaron McCarey, while Harry Murphy should have done better from a headed effort in the dying moments of the game.

After a quiet second-half, there was a lot of pushing and shoving between the two sets of players at the end of the game and the Portadown fans were in loud voice after claiming all three points.

Dungannon Swifts opened the scoring within two minutes. Kealan Dillon delivered a corner to the back post which was met by Peter Maguire.

The defender headed the ball back into the path of Adam Glenny, his shot deflected in off Bangor striker Ben Arthurs.

Bangor's fortunes did not improve after the early goal. Defender Mark Haughey was substituted three minutes later to be replaced by Stephen McGuinness.

This forced Lee Feeney to rethink his gameplan. After the change in approach, the visitors began to get a foothold in the game.

Bangor's best chance of the half came via Ben Arthurs. Picking up the ball in the middle of the park he made a great run beyond Peter Maguire.

Shifting the ball from right foot to left, he created space for a shot in the box, however Steven Scott was alert and blocked his effort.

The second half was a competitive affair and both sides enjoyed their share of possession, but there was little in the way of attacking quality.

Dungannon had calls for a penalty waved away near the end. Substitute Leo Alves entered the box using some close control and was taken down by Patrick Solis Grogan, but only a corner was awarded.

Late on, Arthurs was sent through on goal and attempted a side-footed effort to try and equalise, but this was easily saved by Declan Dunne in the Dungannon goal.