Ryan returns, Hoban heroics and Blues bounce back - Irish Premiership takeaways

Despite two postponements caused by frozen pitches, there was still plenty to discuss in the Irish Premiership this weekend.

On Friday night, Larne moved seven points clear at the top of the table after winning at Inver Park against second-placed Coleraine.

Ballymena v Glenavon and Portadown v Cliftonville were both called off, but Saturday's remaining three fixtures delivered enough drama to more than make up for that with Pat Hoban registering a double hat-trick, Linfield thrashing Bangor and Crusaders picking up three vital points.

BBC Sport NI looks at some of the talking points from the latest round of action.

As other teams search during the transfer window for a proven forward who will score goals, Gary Haveron looks to have one returning from injury that may well help push Larne on for their third league title in four years.

Andy Ryan certainly had an impact when introduced against Coleraine at a chilly Inver Park, scoring twice in 12 minutes.

Ryan, who has missed five months of the season through injury, was brought on in the 69th minute and scored from the penalty spot just five minutes later.

The striker then doubled Larne's lead on 81 minutes before Paul O'Neill fired home for his second goal in three games to secure the three points and further extend a healthy gap for the Inver Reds at the top of the table.

As for Coleraine, despite having scored the most goals in the league, they struggled to test Rohan Ferguson and have now lost five of their past nine matches, defeats which are a big dent to their challenge for a first title since 1974.

Speaking of strikers hitting form at a good time, at Taylors Avenue Pat Hoban became the first player since Gary Hamilton in October 2004 to score six goals in an Irish Premiership game.

Hoban has had a mixed start to the campaign but has now netted in three of Glentoran's past four games.

When Premiership action takes centre stage once again after the Irish Cup fifth round fixtures, Glentoran host the Inver Reds on Tuesday, 13 January during which we will hopefully see a Ryan v Hoban showdown.

It was a much more challenging afternoon for Carrick fans as not only did their side lose by the biggest margin this season, but defender Reece Glendinning was sent off, Ryan Waide looks set to join their lengthy injury list and, with Nathan Gartside ruled out for a number of weeks with a thigh problem, Scott Pengelly is now the only available senior keeper at the club.

Stephen Baxter's side are eleventh but are seven points clear of Glenavon with two games in hand.

It has been a challenging season for Crusaders so far, but they have found form during the festive period to move clear of the bottom two.

While Scottish duo Fraser Bryden and Adam Brooks have claimed most of the headlines for the north Belfast side this season, stopper Musa Dibaga has received praise from both manager Declan Caddell and assistant manager David Rainey in recent weeks.

Dibaga started the first two games of the season, which included a chaotic 3-1 win against Bangor during which he saved two penalties, but then was replaced by the experienced Jonny Tuffey between the posts.

However, after back-to-back 4-0 defeats against Portadown and Linfield in December, Dibaga has returned into the Crusaders net and has only conceded four goals in four games with Caddell's side registering nine points during the run.

After three defeats in a row, a good performance against Bangor was crucial for Linfield, and the champions certainly delivered.

Two goals from Matthew Fitzpatrick took his tally for the season up to nine with Chris McKee also finding the back of the net twice.

With Charlie Allen and Matt Yates also scoring, David Healy will be hoping that his side's confidence will be rejuvenated and, as a result, they can establish more consistent and positive form.

The Blues won the league last season by 22 points and had secured the title before the end-of-season split. However, this year they are far from as convincing and are now fourth, 14 points behind league leaders Larne.

The January transfer market will be crucial for Healy's side as they attempt to stage what would be one of the most dramatic comebacks we have witnessed in recent times.

With so much to play for throughout the Irish Premiership, it is no surprise that there have already been plenty of announcements since the January transfer window opened on Thursday.

Oran Kearney has wasted no time during his first transfer window as Ballymena boss and, after announcing trio Dean Ebbe, Zach Nolan and Igor Rutkowski in December, Sean Murray has now joined the club.

Bangor have signed the experienced Stephen Fallon on loan from Coleraine, while Brandon Bermingham has returned to Dungannon Swifts following his spell at Cliftonville to add to the midfield options at Stangmore Park.

After a busy summer market for Coleraine, Ruaidhri Higgins has continued the pattern into this window. Former Derry City captain Mark Connolly and Portadown's Ben Wylie have signed for the Bannsiders, with both players' time in a blue and white shirt not getting off to the best of starts after making their debuts in Friday's loss to Larne.

A challenging task lies ahead for Michael O'Connor if he is going to stop Glenavon from being relegated to the Championship for the first time since 2004. They have added Gavin Gilmore from Finn Harps to their ranks, but have also lost Francely Lomboto, David McDaid, Bridel Bosakani and Corey Smith, so it is set to be a busy few weeks for the Lurgan Blues.

David Healy said going into the window that he would "look more in-house at more people coming back" and that his side "are not going to sign for the sake of" it and they have, so far, had a quiet January.

Kenzie Beattie is the only returnee to the Blues after a spell at Premier Intermediate side Ballymacash Rangers, although they did move last month to tie the likes of Kirk Millar, Kyle McClean and Ben Hall to new contracts.

Portadown have made an impressive addition in Josh Carson from Ballymena United. However, the loss of Wylie to Coleraine will hurt, while Ryan Mayse has joined Dergview, so Niall Currie will have to search for a new source of goals before the window slams shut at the end of the month.