Irish League Football

Jana McCabe
BBC Sport NI journalist

Image source, Inpho

Glentoran manager Declan Devine said Friday's match against Larne at the Oval is probably the club's biggest in over 20 years [19:45 BST].

The Glens welcome league leaders Larne to east Belfast knowing a win will bring them level on points with the Inver Reds going into the final game of the season.

If Declan Devine's side can win the Gibson Cup, it will be the first time since 2009 when the club won the Irish Premiership for the 23rd time.

The match will be streamed live on BBC iPlayer and the BBC app as well as live text commentary from the game with Devine comparing the game to 'Morgan Day' when Chris Morgan netted a late winner over Linfield in April 2005 to secure the Premiership title for the east Belfast side.

"Friday is probably the biggest game this club has been involved in since Morgan Day," Devine told BBC Sport NI.

"It is something we should look forward to and something as a club that we should embrace, but we have to make sure we keep the levels really high.

"If we can do that, I have no doubt we are a match for anyone on our day. I also know that our opponents who are sitting at the top of the table are a match for anyone on their day."

Glentoran were the 5-0 victors against Dungannon Swifts in their last match which levelled their goal difference with Larne's.

Devine added that the side just need to focus on themselves and is hopeful they can finish the season positively.

"It is very interesting, we have given ourselves a chance, but we have to make sure we recover and get better," he continued.

"That is the interesting fact of it all, 6/7 weeks ago we were playing catch up with games and our goal difference was a bit behind everyone," he continued.

"We just have to get two wins from our last two games, see where it takes us and hopefully finish the season on a real high."

Jana McCabe
BBC Sport NI journalist

Image source, Inpho

Larne manager Gary Haveron said his side have to prepare to face a "a big, strong and physical" Glentoran during Friday's potential title-decider at the Oval (19:45 BST, live on BBC iPlayer).

Victory over the Glens will secure Larne's third Premiership title in four years after triumphs in 2023 and 2024.

However, a Glentoran win would take the title race to the final game of the season.

"We are excited and it is a really hard place to go, probably one of the hardest places in the league this year," Haveron told BBC Sport NI.

"They are a big, strong and physical team and they are experienced now. We know how difficult it will be, but we have shown that we can handle the pressure of playing at the Oval (Larne won 4-1 there in January).

"It will be a big crowd. We need to be at our best and be prepared for the challenge.

The Inver Reds sit three points clear at the top of the Premiership, but Glentoran are unbeaten in their past nine league games.

The sides are also level on goal difference after Glentoran - who last won the title in 2009 - closed the gap with a 5-0 thrashing of Dungannon Swifts.

"It is a huge game, it was always going to be huge game regardless of what happened on Saturday. It was always going to be a massive task," he continued.

"We will recover, it has been a tough few weeks. There was a lot of football played and a lot of running in the legs on a big, big pitch at Windsor."

Image source, Inpho

Niall Currie has left his role as Portadown boss with immediate effect with two games of the Irish Premiership season remaining.

Currie took over as Ports boss for a second spell in October 2022 after previously managing the club between 2016 and 2018.

His last game in charge was Saturday's heavy 4-0 defeat against relegation-threatened Crusaders in which Currie criticised his side's "abysmal" performance.

Currie could not prevent the club from being relegated in the 2022-23 season, but he led the Ports back to the top flight at the first time of asking as they won the Championship title the following campaign.

They also reached the BetMcLean Cup final in 2024, but were beaten in the final by Linfield.

He then guided Portadown to an eighth place finish in their first campaign back in the Irish Premiership last season, two points off seventh and a spot in the European play-offs.

The club currently sit 10th with two games left to play, away to Ballymena United on Saturday and away to Bangor on Saturday, 25 April.

The 53-year-old has also managed Dundela, Carrick Rangers, Ards, Loughgall and Annagh United.

Watch highlights as Ballymena United draw 0-0 with Bangor at the Showgrounds in the Irish Premiership.

Igor Rutkowski missed an early penalty for the Sky Blues while Oisin Devlin was sent off for Bangor after receiving two yellow cards.

Read more: Rutkowski misses penalty as Ballymena draw with Bangor

Image source, Pacemaker

Larne goalkeeper Rohan Ferguson has been named the Irish Premiership Player of the Month for March by the Northern Ireland Football Writers' Association.

Ferguson played a key role in helping table toppers Larne to three important league wins over Dungannon Swifts, Glenavon and Cliftonville in the month.

He also made three saves in the Inver Reds' penalty shootout Irish Cup quarter-final win over Glentoran at the Oval.

"I'd like to thank Sports Direct and the Football Writers' for this award. It's always nice to be recognised as sometimes goalkeepers are overlooked when it comes to individual awards," he said.

"After a fantastic run, we've lost our last two games – both to Coleraine – so it is up to us to go out there and get back on track."

Ferguson, who signed a new four-year deal in October, praised boss Gary Haveron, who won the managerial award, for persuading him to extend his stay at Inver Park.

"I had a year left, the club offered me a new deal and Gaz spoke to me at the time. I wasn't sure if I wanted to go back to Scotland or stay here," Ferguson explained.

"But Gaz showed a massive amount of faith in me, and I think that's hard to come by in football. It made up my mind. Gaz was a massive, massive part of me staying here."

Coleraine defender Charles Dunne was runner-up while Ballymena United striker Igor Rutkowski was third.

Image source, PACEMAKER

Glentoran boss Declan Devine says goal difference in the Premiership title race is going to be "huge" after his side thumped Dungannon Swifts 5-0 on Saturday.

The win keeps the Glens three points behind leaders Larne, who beat Linfield 2-0 in the early kick-off, but the top two are now level on goal difference with two games left.

Next up for the Glentoran is Friday night's huge showdown against Larne at the Oval, with the destiny of the Gibson Cup at stake.

"Goal difference is going to be huge and we knew today that, if presented with opportunities, we needed to take them but I did feel we also left a couple of goals behind," said Devine.

"But the pleasing thing for us is to get five goals at home against a very good Dungannon side and also keep a clean sheet."

Jordan Stewart, Aaron McEneff, Josh Daniels, Daniel Larmour and Jordan Jenkins were on target as the Glens eased to victory.

"Obviously the scoreline would suggest it but I thought we thoroughly deserved the win.

"We were missing players so full credit to the squad we had today because they really dug deep at times.

"Some of our football was excellent - there were a couple of goals in the five that were really high level."

Image source, Pacemaker

Coleraine manager Ruaidhri Higgins says he takes responsibility for the fact that his side had to recover from an early 2-0 deficit to overcome Cliftonville 6-2 in Saturday's Irish Premiership game at Ballycastle Road.

Goals from Joe Gormley and Liam McStravick saw the Bannsiders trail by two after the opening quarter of the contest but the home side blasted back to take victory, Joel Cooper grabbing a hat-trick and Matthew Shevlin contributing two.

The win keeps Higgins' charges in touch with leaders Larne, whom they trail by five points ahead of the final two rounds of fixtures, and two behind second-placed Glentoran.

"I take a wee bit of responsibility for the first 20 minutes or so. We got our shape wrong and they exploited the areas where we were vacant," Higgins told BBC Sport NI.

"We had to change our shape and the players responded brilliantly.

"We scored some brilliant goals today and the first one was a key one because it got the crowd up and it got our players believing and we went from strength to strength from there on.

"It's probably a game that in the first half of the season we might not have come back in. But there's a real resilience in this group now, there's quality."

The Coleraine boss praised prolific pairing Cooper and Shevlin, but also pointed out the impact of the players who have been provide the ammunition.

"We're on an extremely good run. Since the Larne game in early January we have lost one league game but we need to keep this momentum going until the end of the season.

"They [Cooper and Shevlin] know where the net is but they'll be the first to tell you that when you have the likes of [Ben] Wylie and [Jamie] Glackin and [Will] Patching, attack-minded players around them, it gives them every opportunity to score goals.

"As much as they have great quality, they have great quality around them as well."

Image source, Inpho

Linfield manager David Healy has defended his decision to rest some key players in Saturday's 2-0 defeat by title-chasing Larne at Windsor Park.

The Blues boss made seven changes from the starting team which defeated Dungannon on Tuesday and handed debuts to young players Jon Graham, Finlay Ross and Oliver Wade.

Linfield sit fourth in the table and cannot finish any higher or lower than that position while Larne are three points ahead of Glentoran at the summit as they chase a third Premiership crown in four seasons.

The Glens trounced Dungannon Swifts 5-0 later in the day to keep up their pursuit of the pacesetters.

"We mixed it up a little bit. There were players who haven't played enough minutes got deserved minutes today and other young boys who showed up very nicely," explained Healy after the game.

"We're in a position where we have to protect players who are on three or four yellow cards and we can't afford to have suspensions.

"Kyle McClean was carrying an injury and Matthew Fitzpatrick and Kyle Millar have probably played 90% of the games this year.

"I've been in this league for years and I've seen players rested because they are in cup finals, because they are carrying knocks, so I don't see the issue.

"I have to protect the football club, I have to protect the players, I have to give players opportunities, give younger players minutes."

Larne manager Gary Haveron was pleased with the outcome and is looking forward to facing the Glens in a key game at the Oval on Friday, a game which will be broadcast live on BBC iPlayer.

"We know how difficult it is to come to Windsor Park and get a result. The result was all that mattered, Delighted to get the three points and put us in the position we are in," the Larne boss told BBC Sport NI.

"It's important we go into next week with things in our own hands.

"It's going to be a huge game. We'll have to freshen up and regroup. We'll have people back, Dylan Sloan will be back and Leroy Millar will be back. It's a challenge that we look forward to and we need to be at our best.

"It's a tough place to go, they're a big physical team and you know what to expect. They're experienced too. But we've been there in the league and been there in the cup and we've shown that we can handle the pressure of playing at the Oval."

Image source, Pacemaker

Portadown boss Niall Currie said his side's display in their 4-0 thrashing by Crusaders at Seaview was "inexcusable".

The Crues raced into a 3-0 lead before the half-hour mark courtesy of goals from Keiran McKechnie, Fraser Bryden and Elliot Dunlop.

Bryden added a fourth in the second half against a dismal Ports side, with Currie left questioning his players' commitment after the game.

"Abysmal. Inexcusable really to a certain degree. Certain players were sitting on the beach already and I'm not having it and I told the players that," he told BBC Sport NI.

"We've a few players coming out of contract and we have a few secured so I'm not having that. Too many players looked as if the season was over for them. If they're going to do that for us and the supporters, they'll do it at the next club.

"We started awfully, gave the ball away consistently in the first 20 minutes, I've never seen a worse start like it. We didn't track runs and didn't work hard enough and the bottom line is they worked harder than us and deserved it.

"If that's what we're going to get from certain players who are negotiating new contracts then it's not going to happen. I'm not accepting that because that tells me some people can pick and choose their games and that's not the case."

Crusaders boss Declan Caddell was understandably delighted by the "clinical edge" shown by his side as they picked up a first league win since 3 January which moves them off the bottom of the table before their crunch game against relegation rivals Glenavon next week.

"We carried on Tuesday's performance [1-1 draw with Bangor] into today and I thought one to 11 the boys were outstanding," he said.

"Some of the play today was really good. We've been waiting on that, Fraser Bryden playing in a deeper role and he weighed in with two goals. It sets up nicely for next week."