Irish Premiership: Linfield grab dramatic late draw with Cliftonville to stay on top

A late leveller from substitute Ethan Devine grabbed a precious 2-2 draw for Linfield against Cliftonville to ensure the Blues stay at the top of the table.

Glentoran moved to within a point of the holders at the summit as Michael O'Connor scored in their late 2-1 win over Coleraine.

Larne won 3-0 away to basement side Warrenpoint Town while Crusaders won 1-0 at Portadown.

Carrick beat Ballymena 3-0 and Glenavon won 3-1 against Dungannon Swifts.

Having come so close to securing all three points thanks to a Jamie McDonagh double, the draw means Cliftonville are now four points behind the Glens and still five off the Blues, with Crusaders now six behind them in fourth.

Both sides looked lively in the opening stages at Solitude but neither team created any meaningful goalscoring opportunities before McDonagh's opener on 15 minutes, which came from a good run and pass inside by full-back Conor McDermott.

McDonagh's initial effort was blocked but, when Ryan Curran's effort was also closed down, the ball fell to the winger just outside the box and he showed extreme composure before firing a sweet low strike well beyond Chris Johns and into the bottom corner.

Linfield, with on-loan Rangers striker Chris McKee making his first start and Christy Manzinga playing on the left wing, did not get going for the rest of the half with a Stephen Fallon lob over the crossbar their only real effort of note in a flat first-half performance.

Linfield's first equaliser came on 61 minutes when Matthew Clarke got forward down the left to nod home from close range from an inviting cross by fellow full-back Michael Newberry.

The hosts restored their lead within two minutes, however, with Kris Lowe picking up a loose Linfield pass and feeding McDonagh who again found the bottom corner with a precise finish.

January signing Devine had come off the bench and stooped for his second Linfield goal with five minutes remaining, glancing home a fine header from a Clarke cross.

Reds keeper Luke McNicholas had pulled off an outstanding save from a Clarke header just before the leveller, and he saved at his near post from a Kirk Millar shot in injury time to ensure it ended a draw.

Conor McMenamin scored a 90th-minute winner as Glentoran battled past Coleraine to move within touching distance of leaders Linfield.

Despite an early effort by Josh Carson which was easily gathered by Aaron McCarey, the Glens were good value for their lead when Michael O'Connor connected with Robbie McDaid's cross to fire home his first goal for the club on 30 minutes.

The striker almost repeated the trick early in the second half but Stephen O'Donnell threw himself in the way of the effort at the back post, and it looked like the Coleraine captain would have the decisive say when he headed home Conor McKendry's corner to level the game with 17 minutes to play.

Both sides pushed for a winner as tension grew around the Oval, but McMenamin secured the three points for Mick McDermott's men when he took advantage of confusion from a free-kick to tap home from close range and spark wild celebrations.

The Glens are now just one point behind Linfield, while the heartbreaking defeat for Coleraine all but ends any slim hopes of a late title push for the Bannsiders.

Ben Kennedy scored a dramatic 90th-minute winner as Crusaders got back to winning ways after Friday's defeat by Glentoran by winning 1-0 at Portadown.

A throw-in from the left was flicked on and Kennedy took a great touch before firing past Jethren Barr.

After an evenly-contested first half, the Crues had the better chances in the second, Paul Finnegan clearing off the line from Paul Heatley and the forward also shooting wide.

Barr also saved Jordan Owens' point-blank header but Kennedy's late intervention gave his side a third victory of the season over the Ports, who had new interim manager Paul Doolin watching from the stands.

Lee Bonis scored his first Larne goal since his recent move from Portadown to help the east Antrim side to a routine 3-0 win at Warrenpoint Town.

The home side frustrated Larne in the early stages and came close to taking the lead themselves when Luke Wade Slater's looping header was clawed behind by keeper Conor Devlin.

But Warrenpoint's resolute defending unravelled as they conceded two goals in as many minutes shortly after the half-hour mark.

Firstly, John Herron's miscued shot was deflected in by the alert David McDaid and barely had the celebrations subsided before the visitors doubled their advantage when Ben Doherty's cross was bundled home by Bonis, with referee Evan Boyce adjudging that Point goalkeeper Stephen McMullan hadn't prevented the ball from crossing the line.

Larne added a third goal on 56 minutes when Herron headed home from a Doherty free kick to leave Warrenpoint now 14 points from safety at the foot of the table.

Glenavon produced an impressive second-half comeback to claim their first win in four league games with a 3-1 home success over Dungannon Swifts.

The home side created the better openings in the first but couldn't force Swifts keeper Declan Dunne into action and they paid for their wastefulness as the visitors opened the scoring two minutes before the interval.

A well-worked move from deep inside their own half eventually culminated in Ben Gallagher's cross from the left being forced home at the near post by Rhyss Campbell.

Glenavon equalised on 58 minutes when Peter Campbell's accurate free kick found the bottom corner of the net.

And within five minutes, the Lurgan Blues were ahead when defender Mark Haughey found a yard of space in the penalty area to head home from Jack O'Mahony's free kick.

The comeback was completed with two minutes left when Conor McCloskey grabbed Glenavon's third goal on the breakaway.

Carrick Rangers made it three wins from three encounters this term against their opponents Ballymena United at Taylors Avenue.

Five minutes before the break Kyle Cherry's corner was palmed away by debutant goalkeeper Ciaran Gallagher and David Cushley drilled home a left-foot shot.

Kym Nelson's header was brilliantly saved by Matthew Skeet before Cushley completed his double from the penalty spot in the 65th minute after Nelson had handled inside the area.

On 78, Ewan Kelly latched on to a long ball from Cherry and shot into the net after Gallagher had failed to hold.

Carrick's first win in 10 league outings sees them move above Dungannon Swifts into ninth place in the table.