Irish Premiership: Five things we noticed

Glentoran came from behind to beat Warrenpoint, Crusaders edged Coleraine in the Friday Night Football clash and Linfield went top on goal difference with an important away win over Cliftonville.

Here are five things we noticed during this weekend's Irish Premiership action.

David Healy has enjoyed a lot of highs in his football career as both a player and manager.

As he admitted himself, however, their shock Irish Cup defeat by Championship side Queen's University was as low as he had felt in the game.

He was in need of a pick-me-up at Solitude on Monday night and his players certainly provided him with one as they secured a steely 2-1 win over Cliftonville to move top of the table on goal difference.

The title holders started the game in determined fashion and deservedly took the lead through a well-taken Andrew Mitchell penalty before they were pegged back by a superbly executed chip by Joe Gormley.

It might have been easy for the Linfield players' heads to drop but they started the second half in a similar fashion to the first, and restored their lead through substitute Mark Stafford.

The former Ballinamallard defender was one of five players dropped from the team that faced Queen's as Healy no doubt demanded a reaction - and certainly got one.

For a while, it looked as though Warrenpoint were up to their old unbeaten run-ending tricks again.

In November, Point played out of their skin to beat Coleraine 3-1 and end the Bannsiders' unbeaten start to the season. On Saturday, they came close to halting Glentoran's streak at 13.

Alan O'Sullivan - who scored two in that Coleraine game - gave Point an unlikely lead with a clinical finish five minutes after the restart.

The turning point arrived on 73 minutes when Point goalkeeper Mark Byrne received a straight red card for bringing Jonny Frazer down just outside the box.

With the pressure on Glentoran to make their numerical advantage count, up stepped their two biggest-hitters this season.

Hrvoje Plum slid a neat pass into Robbie McDaid for the equaliser before the Croatian added another to his ever-growing portfolio of superb free-kicks.

McDaid and Plum now have 26 league goals between them. Nobody at Glentoran can match their match-winning powers and it's their deadly touch which has catapulted them to the summit for the first time since September 2013.

For Crusaders, it was a case of two Jordans.

Of course, while Owens took the headlines for scoring the winner against Coleraine on Friday night, it was Forsythe who caught our eye once again.

The versatile midfielder signed a three-year contract extension at the beginning of the season. Since then, he has consistently demonstrated how valuable he is to Crusaders and Stephen Baxter.

Forsythe is the kind of player managers love. He's consistent, hard-working and can comfortably operate in a number of positions.

On Friday, he was deployed at right-back. Not only did he perform his duties admirably, but he provided the moment of match-winning quality that ensured the Crues headed back down to Belfast with three points.

After David Cushley had outmuscled Jamie Glackin, Forsythe picked up the loose ball, took one touch and picked out Owens at the far post. The cross was inch-perfect. Owens, given his aerial prowess, was never going to miss from four yards.

Owens remains a big-game player for Crusaders and, while Jamie McGonigle has proven a hit in his first season at Seaview, the multi-skilled Forsythe is just as important.

Glenavon manager Gary Hamilton didn't sugar-coat his post-match sentiments after his side's 2-2 draw with Institute.

Expressing disappointment, he compared the Lurgan Blues' defending to something you would find if you went and watched the kids kick the ball about in the park.

But there were positives to take. They fought back from 2-0 down to snatch a point, with their new recruits central to that comeback.

Daniel Purkis, who was extraordinarily prolific with East Belfast before joining Glenavon, looked sharp all afternoon and gave his new club a lifeline with a well-taken volley, and while he may not have had the final touch, Matthew Snoddy's goal-bound effort led to the equaliser.

Dylan Davidson also showed flashes of quality on his debut, the most notable of which being a stunning volley which was ruled out for offside.

The January window couldn't come soon enough for Hamilton. With injuries and Rhys Marshall's departure, his squad was in need of bolstering. He seems to have captured a couple of gems already and, if he can snap up one or two more, the second half of the season may prove more fruitful than the first.

It was an eventful weekend for Larne.

On Friday, they swept derby rivals Carrick Rangers aside with a 4-0 win at Inver Park.

Then, on Saturday, the club's owner, Kenny Bruce, announced via Twitter that they had withdrawn from negotiations over a possible deal to sign Cliftonville forward Ruaidhri Donnelly.

Given Donnelly's profile, missing out on his signature is a blow, but Larne are certainly not lacking in firepower.

In fact, Johnny McMurray and David McDaid have 10 goals apiece in the league, with Martin Donnelly not far behind with eight.

No club is going to be pleased with missing out on a player of Donnelly's quality, but with McDaid and McMurray's partnership blossoming well, Larne remain impressively equipped in the attacking department.

Larne boss Tiernan Lynch can only hope it's a sign of things to come with Crusaders, Glentoran and Linfield making up a daunting three-game stretch for the Invermen.