Glenavon on song as Blues’ Euro hopes are dealt real blow
LINFIELD: Deane, Stafford, Crowe, Callacher, Waterworth, Lowry, Millar, Byrne (Strain 66), Mulgrew, Campion (Rooney 82), Quinn. Unused subs: Robinson, Fallon, Mitchell.
GLENAVON: Tuffey, Burns, Daniels (Kelly 68), Marshall, Mitchell (Foley 71), Hall (Griffin 52), Marron. Clingan, McGrory, Murray, Singleton. Unused subs: Taylor, O’Mahoney.
Referee: Evan Boyce.
Man of the match: Stephen Murray Match rating: 5/10.
LINFIELD’S season is stumbling from crisis to crisis. David Healy’s boys last night produced another Windsor Park horror show that almost certainly torpedoed any chances of them finishing in an automatic European qualifying place.
Goals from Glenavon’s Josh Daniels and Marc Griffin made it yet another night of misery for the Blues, who now haven’t won a Danske Bank Premiership game in front of their home fans since December 23.
On this form, that horrible run doesn’t look like ending anytime soon. With Cliftonville due at the international venue for an Irish Cup showdown on Saturday, it’s now make or break for Healy’s men.
The stuttering Blues — they have lost a staggering nine league games so far — trail Glenavon by six points as both teams chase down Coleraine in second place.
They can have no complaints. They were out-fought and outthought by Gary Hamilton’s Lurgan Blues, who are now unbeaten in 10 matches in all competitions.
French striker Achille Campion had a glorious chance to shoot the Blues into the lead after only five minutes when he benefited from a Jimmy Callacher flick, but he shamefully shot high and wide.
The visitors responded with Bobby Burns surging forward from midfield before slipping a clever pass to Daniels but, instead of pulling the trigger, the winger preferred to take a touch, which allowed Callacher to get in with a telling block.
Lively Kirk Millar then picked out the long-striding Andy Waterworth, who let fly from the edge of the box but failed to trouble Jonny Tuffey.
But it was the Lurgan Blues who forged ahead after 21 minutes with a classy strike from Daniels — his second goal of the season.
Stephen Murray and Andrew Mitchell were involved in the build-up, which resulted in the 21-year-old wrong-footing the home defence before drilling low past Gareth Deane.
Linfield attempted to come back off the ropes with Campion firing in a low drive that Tuffey just managed to smother with Kurtis Byrne ready to pounce. Then, Waterworth was allowed time and space to turn on the edge of the box, but Tuffey got down smartly to paw clear at the base of the post.
Glenavon, looking dangerous every time they surged forward, should really have tested Deane again on 32 minutes when Murray left the defence in his wake on the right before cutting back an inviting ball to Mitchell, who totally fluffed his lines when it mattered. The striker tried to make amends by drilling in a low drive from 30 yards, and Deane was relieved to get his body behind it.
With Healy’s team talk still