Irish Premiership: Glentoran beat Linfield as Larne & Cliftonville win

Bobby Burns scored twice as Glentoran hammered rivals Linfield 3-0 in the Irish Premiership at the Oval.

League leaders Larne beat Dungannon Swifts 3-0 while Cliftonville defeated bottom side Portadown 3-0.

Matthew Shevlin continued his good form as Coleraine beat Newry City 1-0 at the Showgrounds.

Philip Lowry scored a last-gasp equaliser as Crusaders drew 2-2 at Glenavon, while Carrick Rangers beat Ballymena United 1-0 at Taylors Avenue.

Bobby Burns impressed at the Oval as Glentoran defeated Linfield in a game which was overshadowed by more spectator misconduct in the Big Two derby.

After Glentoran's third goal there were unsavoury scenes as various objects were thrown onto the pitch from the Linfield fans behind the goal. The game was stopped twice after Marcus Kane and Aaron McCarey appeared to be struck by items.

In November, Linfield were forced to close the Kop stand at Windsor Park for two months and were warned over future spectator misconduct by the Irish FA following the Blues' 3-0 defeat by Glentoran on 14 October.

Speaking to the BBC, Linfield boss David Healy said Tuesday night's scenes were "unacceptable" and that the club had "let ourselves down, on and off the pitch."

On Wednesday, the IFA said: "We are aware of the incidents and will work proactively with the relevant parties on next steps."

After a slow opening half hour, Glentoran took the lead thanks to a superb long-range strike from Burns. The midfielder, who scored against Linfield back in October, latched onto Shay McCartan's backheel before firing a fierce strike beyond the helpless Chris Johns and into the back of the net.

It took just three minutes for the Glens to double their lead in the second half as Wilson nodded home a Burns cross after Chris Johns failed to punch the initial cross from the right-hand side.

The Glens had their third of the night when Burns fired home his second of the game. Conor McMenamin whipped a delightful ball to the back post, which was nodded back across goal to Burns and he made no mistake from 12-yards out in the 61st minute.

A disputed penalty proved pivotal as Larne held on to top spot thanks to a 3-0 victory over Dungannon Swifts at Stangmore Park.

The Swifts had made life difficult for the league leaders in the first half, but seconds after the restart Larne were awarded a spot kick and the floodgates opened after Paul O'Neill fired past Declan Dunne.

Caolin Coyle appeared to win the ball in a challenge with Paul O'Neill, but referee Mark Dillon pointed to the spot and O'Neill made no mistake.

Larne then took control of the match and Joe Thomson added a second after Declan Dunne had parried Shea Gordon's initial effort.

Andy Ryan then netted his first for the club, bundling Fuad Sule's cross over the line to ensure Larne remain at the top of the table as Dungannon lost 3-0 for the third consecutive league match.

Cliftonville remain behind league leaders Larne on goal difference, after Ronan Hale's double helped the Reds to a 3-0 win over Portadown at Solitude.

The Reds got off to the perfect start after Joe Gormley found Ronan Hale in space in the Ports penalty area and Hale duly delivered, curling the ball over the head of Manchester United loanee Ondrej Mastny to give the north Belfast side the lead on 18 minutes.

Jonny Addis doubled the hosts' lead eight minutes into the second half when the defender powered home Jamie McDonagh's corner.

Hale got his second of the evening on the hour mark and wrapped up the points for Paddy McLaughlin's men when the former Larne striker acrobatically finished Jamie McDonagh's inviting cross with an overhead kick to put the game beyond the Ports.

Niall Currie's men had chances to test Nathan Gartside when Cathir Friel's close range strike was well saved in the 33rd minute, and the Portadown fans will be wondering how Mark Russell hit his shot wide inside the six-yard area with only the goalkeeper to beat 13 minutes from time.

A tenth-minute goal from the league's leading scorer Matthew Shevlin was enough to earn Coleraine all three points in a 1-0 win over Newry City as they moved to 13 games unbeaten.

The Ballymena man was in the right place at the right time to fire home Andrew Scott's low cross from the right in a blistering opening from the home side.

That made it 21 league goals for the season for Shevlin but it could and should have been 22 as he passed up a glorious chance in the closing seconds.

Lee Lynch presented him with the opening but Shevlin crashed his close range effort off the crossbar when it looked easier to score.

There were other chances too for Coleraine, most notably from strike partner Eamon Fyfe, but they failed to make their possession count.

And they were almost made to pay with 20 minutes to go when Brian Healy passed up Newry City's best chance of the game, volleying over the crossbar after a lightning counter-attack.

After a goalless first-half at Mourneview Park the opener came when substitute Aaron Prendergast's mis-hit strike was deflected forward by Calum Birney and fell into the path of Matthew Fitzpatrick, whose volley beat Jonathan Tuffey.

The visitors got an equaliser in the 68th minute when Paul Heatley capitalised on a mistake by Glenavon captain Danny Wallace and found the bottom left corner to score his 200th goal for the club.

Gary Hamilton's men restored their lead when teenager Jamie Doran connected with Fitzpatrick's pass and produced an unstoppable strike from just inside the box, to score his first goal for the Lurgan Blues.

Dean Ebbe headed against the crossbar for the Crues, but Stephen Baxter's men got an equaliser in the closing seconds when top scorer Lowry fired home from the edge of the box.

Carrick claimed back-to-back league wins by defeating Ballymena United 1-0 at Taylors Avenue as Nedas Maciulaitis' goal on 28 minutes proved enough for a home victory.

January signing Maciulaitis fired low and hard past Sean O'Neill from eight-yards after the visiting defence failed to clear from a long throw.

Ballymena's best chance in the first half came through a Jordan Gibson shot from the edge of the area that forced an athletic save from Ross Glendinning, who tipped the effort onto the crossbar.

Carrick's best chance after the restart came on 78 minutes when Ben Tilney pounced on a loose ball from the edge of the box, however his effort went narrowly over the crossbar.

On 82 minutes it looked like Ballymena would level the game, but Gibson's header was saved by Glendinning after a pinpoint Kenny Kane cross from the left wing.