Irish League Football

Image source, Pacemaker Press

Larne manager Gary Haveron praised "ruthless" Andy Ryan after his side's 2-1 victory over 10-man Bangor at Inver Park, during which the striker netted twice.

Ryan was making his first start of the season following a long-term knee injury and netted twice in the first half against the Seasiders.

Bangor did pull a goal back through substitute Ben Cushnie shortly after the restart, but they couldn't find an equaliser.

"We always knew he was coming back and how key he would be for the second part of the season," Haveron told BBC Sport NI.

"That is what Andy Ryan does, he is absolutely ruthless when he gets into the box.

"He is a clever striker and scores all sorts of goals. He is so good and I was delighted to see him get his goals tonight."

The result means that the Inver Reds remain eight points clear at the top of the Irish Premiership with a game in hand.

However, Haveron was frustrated with the goal that his side conceded in the second half.

"It was really sloppy the goal we conceded," he continued.

"Bangor came out the second half and had a bit of a go.

"Ben Cushnie has done well for the goal but is it really poor from our perspective, it has gone right through the middle of us which is so uncharacteristic"

Bangor manager Lee Feeney added that his side "were never going to get a fairytale story" against the league leaders.

"It was boys against men," Feeney said.

"I don't think we ever had a chance when we are coming here on a Friday night. Part time players against a proper good full-time team, but we tried to give it our best go."

Image source, Crusaders FC

Crusaders have signed winger Thomas Maguire on loan from Dungannon Swifts until the end of the season.

The 26-year-old joined the Swifts from Larne in 2023 and was placed on the transfer list earlier in the week.

During his time at Rodney McAree's side, he made 75 Premiership appearances and scored five goals.

Maguire previously spent time on the books of Cliftonville and Warrenpoint Town and has also played in America.

The winger is Declan Caddell's second January signing following defender Cameron Bruce joining the club on a two-and-a-half-year deal from Airdrieonians.

The announcement also comes following the departures of club captain Jarlath O'Rourke and Ross Clarke to Glentoran.

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Glentoran have completed a double swoop from Crusaders for Jarlath O'Rourke and Ross Clarke.

O'Rourke spent six years at Seaview following a move from Dungannon Swifts in 2019.

The 30-year-old defender made 246 appearances for the north Belfast club including 24 this season when he served as team captain.

"Even before getting out on the pitch with the lads, you can sense the standards around the place," O'Rourke said after the move was confirmed.

"It's a strong group, competitive in the right way and there's a real hunger within the squad to achieve something together."

Midfielder Clarke, 32, became the second player to swap Seaview for the Oval on Thursday.

The midfielder made 257 for the Crues since his arrival from Linfield in 2018, scoring 34 goals and claiming three Irish Cup winners medals in the process, but makes the move across the city to strengthen the right side of Glentoran's midfield.

"The opportunity to play full-time was one I couldn't turn down," Clarke said.

"Glentoran is a massive club with big expectations and you can see immediately the standards and professionalism around the place.

"It's a club with a real history and I'm proud to be pulling on the Glentoran jersey. I'll give everything I've got to make a success of my time here and do my bit for the team."

Image source, Inpho

Coleraine manager Ruaidhri Higgins says Glenavon represent "a different proposition now" to earlier in the season as the sides prepare to meet in Friday night's Irish Premiership game, which will be broadcast live on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website.

Coleraine sit second in the table, eight points behind leaders Larne, before their encounter with the Lurgan Blues at Ballycastle Road.

Glenavon remain rooted to the bottom, 11 points adrift of 11th-placed Carrick Rangers, despite notable home wins over Belfast sides Glentoran and Linfield in recent months.

The Bannsiders ran out 2-1 winners when the sides met in the league at Mourneview Park in August, with Higgins' team again getting the better of the Lurgan Blues in the reverse fixture in early November, this time on an emphatic 5-1 scoreline.

"He [Michael] has done a good job since he went in there. They made life very difficult for Glentoran at the weekend [losing 2-1], there was very little in that match.

"And they've recruited well – they've signed good players, they're now a different proposition to what they were earlier in the season

"It's an extremely dangerous game and one that we have to be fully focused on. If we don't approach it mentally in the right manner then you can slip up.

"But I hope we now have a group of players that are extremely professional and are ready to go."

Some of the managers in charge of part-time Premiership clubs have indicated that they believe switching games from Saturdays to Friday nights provides an advantage to their full-time counterparts.

Higgins has some sympathy with this argument but sees a range of benefits of playing some matches on a Friday evening.

"From speaking to people around the club here, financially, for the club, it seems to be better [Friday night games].

"There are positives and negatives to it but you look at the amount of people who play in Saturday leagues who are missing out coming here on a Saturday.

"From a negative point of view we would have a session less to prepare than what we would if it was a Saturday game, so you're losing that advantage.

"Instead of training four or five times you're training three or four times. So there's pros and cons to it.

"In my opinion, and not everyone will agree with my opinion, there's many reasons why it's a good thing and one or two why it's not."

Image source, Inpho

Irish Premiership leaders Larne have signed midfielder Ronan Doherty from title rivals Coleraine for an undisclosed fee.

The 30-year-old joined Coleraine from Cliftonville in January 2025 and also has top-flight experience with Institute.

It is the first January arrival for the Inver Park side, who hold an eight-point lead over the Bannsiders and have a game in hand.

Larne manager Gary Haveron said he was "absolutely delighted" to acquire the services of Doherty.

"Ronan is a player I've admired for some time and I think he is a really fantastic addition," said Haveron.

"Having met with him recently I not only think he's a great player, but a great lad and he fits with what we want in the people we bring into the group."

Doherty said that Larne are "the best team in the league at the minute" and he was delighted to side.

"They're top of the league for a reason and what more could you want to play for the number one?," he said.

"Larne have also won two of the last three league titles and become a massive club, so it's not a tough decision at all to come here.

"Inver Park was a place I hated to come to, because you so rarely got anything from the game. I want to play my part in helping to keep it that way."

Meanwhile, County Antrim Shield winners Carrick Rangers have announced the signing of former Stoke City forward Rakealan Jeffers, known as Keke, on a short term deal until the end of the season.

"I am excited to be here and can't wait to get started," 20-year-old Keke said.

"The atmosphere the Carrick fans brought to the final was amazing, I'm really looking forward to playing for the Amber Army."

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The rescheduled Irish Cup fifth round tie between Ballymena United and Larne has been postponed for a second time.

The all-Irish Premiership tie was originally set to be played on Saturday, 10 January but frozen conditions forced a number of games to be postponed.

Ballymena were set to host Larne on Tuesday night but a waterlogged pitch at the Showgrounds has forced the game to be called off a second time.

The game will now be played on Tuesday, 3 February and will still be at the Showgrounds, and the winner will travel to Championship side Warrenpoint Town on Saturday, 7 February.

Loughgall's tie with Knockbreda has also been postponed after heavy rain across Northern Ireland on Tuesday, while Glentoran will take on Strabane Athletic in the third rescheduled tie.

The County Antrim Shield final between Carrick Rangers and Cliftonville will be played as scheduled on Tuesday.

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Linfield have completed the signing of Scottish midfielder Adam Frizzell on an 18-month deal.

The 27-year-old arrives on a free transfer after leaving Derry City following a six-month spell with the Candystripes.

Frizzell has also featured for the likes of Kilmarnock and Dumbarton and was captain at Airdrieonians.

He becomes the Blues' second January arrival after Darragh Leahy joined from Waterford.

"Adam brings vital leadership and experience into the middle of the park, and he comes from a really good pedigree across the water," Linfield boss David Healy told the club's website.

"We've tracked him for a number of years when he was playing in Scotland so it's great to get his signature at the club. He plays two or three attacking positions and we're hopeful he'll play a key role for us here at Windsor Park and be an important addition to the group.

"I look forward to introducing him to the rest of the team and getting him out on the training pitch this week."

Elsewhere, Ballymena United have signed experienced defender Shane McEleney from Glentoran.

The 34-year-old joins the Sky Blues after a year with Declan Devine's side and will link up with his brother Patrick at the Showgrounds.

Coleraine have confirmed that defender Adam long has left the club by mutual consent after joining last summer.

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Coleraine boss Ruaidhri Higgins hailed his side's "excellent" second-half performance as they scored five goals after the break in a 5-1 comeback win over Crusaders.

Fraser Bryden gave the Crues a half-time lead at the Showgrounds before the hosts hit back in style.

Joel Cooper bagged a hat-trick while Mark Connolly and Matthew Shevlin were also on target for the Bannsiders.

"I'm obviously delighted with the outcome - I felt in the first half we didn't play at the speed we wanted to play at, albeit we created a number of chances," said Higgins.

"We just weren't ourselves but in the second half we were much, much better. We were much quicker and scored some brilliant goals."

The teams were meeting again just eight days after Coleraine beat the Crues 4-0 in the Irish Cup.

"It can be difficult when you play a team back-to-back - they changed their system today which we weren't expecting.

"We had to adapt and in the opening stages and we weren't good enough and it cost us.

"We got better as the first half progressed and from half-time we were excellent."

The win moves Coleraine to within eight points of pacesetters Larne having played a game more.

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Cliftonville manager Jim Magilton says his side were "sloppy" during their 4-1 loss against Carrick Rangers at Solitude.

Brian Healy's early goal broke the deadlock, but two goals from Danny Gibson and Paul Heatley's strike gave Carrick the lead at the break.

After the restart, Gibson completed his hat-trick and took his tally for the season up to eight.

"It was a bright start. We played on the front foot, passed the ball really well and scored a great goal and that was about the highlight," Magilton told BBC Sport NI.

"After that, we got bullied physically. We stopped doing the things we were doing really, really well.

"We sat off, played too deep, didn't get high enough up the pitch and got sloppy. The goals obviously changed the game and the outlook, but they were better than us today."

The sides will meet once again on Tuesday night in the County Antrim Shield final with the Cliftonville boss adding that he needs a response from his side in the showpiece.

"We need to play miles better, there's no getting away from that. Everyone wants to praise you when you're flying, but this was a really bad day in terms of how we finished the game," he continued.

"We've lost Eric [McWoods] as well and I don't know how long he'll be out, but it looks like it's long-term.

"You have to lick your wounds. We've experienced players in the dressing room, and we need a lift, absolutely no doubt about that. It's a final, a one-off game, and we have to approach it exactly like that."

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Glentoran assistant manager Tim McCann says the side's 2-1 victory over Glenavon at Mourneview Park "was a really tough game".

After a quite start to the match, Niall Quinn's own goal gave Glentoran the lead before Cammy Palmer doubled their advantage.

Paul McGovern did pull one back for the home side in the final 20 minutes, but they couldn't find another goal before the full-time whistle.

The Lurgan Blues had won the previous meeting between the sides 3-1 at Mourneview Park earlier in the season.

"Really, really tough game," McCann told BBC Sport NI.

"We lost the last time we were up here and we had to make amends and these are the games that you have to win. You have to grind out results.

"Were we at our best today? By no stretch of the imagination we were, but we got the three points and that is all that matters."

The Glens now return to winning ways after a disappointing 4-1 loss midweek against Larne put to an end their four-game unbeaten run.

Results elsewhere mean that the Lurgan Blues are now 11 points adrift at the bottom of the Irish Premiership with manager Michael O'Connor frustrated with the manner of the goals that his side are conceding.

"The two goals we conceded were soft," said O'Connor.

"The first 20/25 minutes before they scored, I think we were the better team without creating loads of chances. Then we are hit with a sucker punch.

"We huffed and puffed at the end, without creating any chances. We are in games, but we are not clinical enough in front of goal and are conceding too many."