Irish League Football

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Glentoran manager Declan Devine said he was left to rue a "sore" defeat against Larne in the Irish Cup on penalties, which he believed was down to "big decisions" from the referee that went against his side.

The Glens took the lead in the quarter-final through Cammy Palmer before Andy Ryan levelled in the second half for Larne.

MJ Kamson Kamara was then sent off just before the end of normal time after picking up a second yellow card which Devine said had a "huge bearing" on the outcome of the game as Rohan Ferguson saved all three of the Glens' penalties.

"It's a painful one, fine margins in the game, big calls and from where I was, I thought we had a good case for a penalty from a handball and I don't think the two yellow card were yellow cards," he told BBC Sport NI.

"On the back of a third game in six days, to go down to 10 men, I thought the players were magnificent, running on empty with a real high level of commitment, it's really sore to take and there are big decisions that have gone against us and as a result we have gone to penalties and our penalties were poor, we know that, but they were taken with a lot of fatigue.

"I don't think we got what we deserved. We come away talking about big decisions that have gone against us and I'm sick of it."

Devine said Kamson Kamara was shown the first yellow card for simulation and he then received his marching orders for a tackle on Ryan which the Glens boss thought was harsh.

"I believe he's won the ball on the second one, I don't think it's a foul. People are diving all night so why's that a yellow card and the rest of the dives aren't, I don't even think it was a dive," he added.

"We have to use the pain of the defeat to move forward in the coming weeks."

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Larne boss Gary Haveron praised the "composure" shown by goalkeeper Rohan Ferguson and the players who stepped up in the penalty shootout as his side saw off Glentoran in the Irish Cup quarter-final tie at the Oval.

Ferguson saved all three of Glentoran's penalties after the game had finished 1-1 after extra time, while Tomas Cosgrove, Sean Graham and Chris Gallagher converted their spot kicks to send Larne through to the semi-finals.

It was the perfect way for Haveron to celebrate his 45th birthday, with Ferguson providing him the perfect gift as Larne continue their hunt for a first Irish Cup.

"Rohan Ferguson came up to me and said 'Happy birthday gaffer' so it was a brilliant way to finish the day. It is what I wanted for my birthday and it couldn't have gone any better," he told BBC Sport NI.

"Delighted to get through to the semi-final, you know how difficult it is going to be coming to the Oval and there is not going to be much in the game, fine margins, so delighted to come out the right side.

"The guys showed unbelievable composure in the penalty shootout, we did it against Auda and Pristina [in Europe] and we have the confidence. In Ro Ferguson we have the best goalkeeper in the league and to save three of their penalties was unbelievable."

Haveron was satisfied that his side managed to muster a response after a lacklustre first half as Andy Ryan cancelled out Cammy Palmer's opener before MJ Kamson Kamara was dismissed for two bookable offences for the hosts.

"First half we weren't at it, we didn't press them but the second half and the reaction I got was superb," he continued.

"I couldn't have asked for any more from them they kept pushing and pushing and rightfully got the goal and in extra time we looked like the team that would win it.

Penalties are not much of a lottery to me as we've got Ro and boys who have real composure, who have been there and done it."

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BBC Sport NI is to broadcast this season's BetMcLean Cup final between Linfield and Glentoran at Windsor Park live on BBC Two NI, BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website.

The big Belfast rivals are meeting in the final of a knockout cup competition for the first time in 16 years.

The match will be played on Sunday, 15 March, with coverage beginning at 14:35 and the match kicking off at 15:00.

Presenter Stephen Watson will be joined in studio by David Jeffrey, Paul Leeman and Jim Magilton, who will provide expert analysis, with Thomas Kane joined on commentary by Colin Coates.

Nicola McCarthy will gather reaction pitchside at what is a hugely anticipated decider expected to be played in front of a huge crowd at the National Stadium.

Last week the Northern Ireland Football League [NIFL] confirmed the landmark decision that video assistant referees [VAR] technology would be used for the first time in the domestic professional game in Northern Ireland at the final.

Linfield will be targeting a 13th success in the competition, while the Glens aim to collect the silverware for the eighth time.

For the first time the winner of the competition will secure a place in the end-of-season European play-offs, leaving them just one game away from qualification for European competition.

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Carrick Rangers manager Stephen Baxter says goalkeeper Nathan Gartside should take "no blame" for the error which led to Glentoran's late winner at the Oval.

Gartside spilled Aaron McEneff's corner with MJ Kamson Kamara poking home the loose ball for the only goal of the game, but Baxter rushed to the defence of his goalkeeper who had earlier pulled off some huge saves.

Indeed, the Carrick boss was happy with how his side performed in east Belfast and while disappointed with the defeat, he could have no complaints with their endeavour.

"I'm exceptionally proud of the team," Baxter told BBC Sport NI.

"Glentoran have exceptional players to bring on from their bench to change football matches and did that tonight.

"We had matched them stride for stride defensively, shut down their passing lanes and were able to frustrate them in many ways.

"The blunder you will talk about with Nathan dropping the ball into the net is hugely frustrating for him, but he has made three brilliant saves. While he's hugely disappointed, there's no blame attached from me - that's the life of a goalkeeper."

Baxter paid further tribute to his players including Joe Moore who returned from Scotland after the funeral of his grandfather to play on Tuesday, while he also revealed defender Billy Joe Burns played through injury and after a number of days attending to his sick child.

"I'm extremely pleased with the efforts and have thanked the team for their performances over the last two months with a small squad," he added.

"Some have played when they shouldn't have so that says it all about the commitment."

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Glentoran manager Declan Devine says it was a "huge three points" for his side after defeating Carrick Rangers 1-0 at the Oval.

MJ Kamson-Kamara netted seven minutes from time to clinch victory for the dominant hosts.

The win moves the east Belfast side up to second in the Premiership standings and five points behind leaders Larne.

"It's a massive win, because we would have been really frustrated if it ended 0-0 or even worse," said Devine.

"We were relentless in our pursuit of the goal, which also left us a bit open on the counter-attack.

"The pleasing thing for me was that we never got frustrated, we kept going right to the end.

"I said to the lads at half-time that it might go to the last 10-15 minutes and I was right - it's getting that first goal, which is really difficult against a low block.

"We 100% deserved the victory and that's testimony to the players. I's a huge three points."

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Kevin Crossan has been named the new chairman of Cliftonville FC.

Crossan's appointment comes after former chairman Keiran Harding stood down last month alongside directors David Begley and Adrian Keenan.

Their departure came after the Toronto Investment Group (TIG) withdrew their investment proposal in the Irish Premiership club.

In a statement on Monday, external, the north Belfast club confirmed that Crossan was nominated unopposed at their Extraordinary General Meeting.

Club members also elected Anthony Donnelly to the position of Stadium Director.

Previous chairman Harding had been in the role for two years but left following disagreements between the board and supporters during the proposed TIG takeover.