Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
HAND OF FATE..
Larne sweating on the availability of Marty for Linfield clash following unlucky break at Swifts
LARNE playmaker Marty Donnelly faces a race against time to be fit for Friday’s top two clash with Linfield after breaking his hand nine days ago against Dungannon Swifts.
The influential winger sat out Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Cliftonville and boss Tiernan Lynch admits it’s touch-and-go if the 32-year-old features against the Blues at Windsor Park.
It would be a blow if Donnelly, who has scored 50 goals in 110 appearances for Larne, misses the crunch showdown with Linfield who lie three points above the Invermen at the summit.
Asked if the mercurial midfielder has a chance of lining out against the league leaders, Lynch (inset on Saturday) said: “Possibly, but it’s a case of wait and see.
“Marty broke his hand after falling against Dungannon, was put in a cast last
Sunday morning but then a specialist looked at him at the fracture clinic last Monday.
“They took him out of the cast and put him in a splint, so he has been able to train, not joining in with the team, but he’s been doing his own cardio and so on.
“They said it would be two weeks before he could get back playing again, so whether he will be fit to play against Linfield or not, I don’t know at this stage.
“If he had stayed in the cast it would have been approximately a six week layoff, but now that he’s out of the cast, it won’t be as long term.”
Linfield, who drew 0-0 with Coleraine at the weekend, face derby rivals Glentoran at Windsor tomorrow night, before welcoming
Larne to South Belfast on Friday.
LINFIELD might be sitting pretty at the top of the Premiership but keeper Chris Johns reckons they’ve been treading water lately.
Fresh from helping his side secure a point in a goalless draw with Coleraine at Windsor Park on Saturday, the 26-year-old admitted there was a sense of frustration in the Blues’ dressing-room.
For while the league leaders are three points ahead of Larne with a game in hand, they’ve spurned several chances to open up a more significant gap on the Inver Reds, who lost to Cliftonville at the weekend and have been stuttering badly since the new year.
“It is really frustrating “We’re not taking our ch the door is open.
“Larne have dropp number of points fro the start of this year until now and we just haven’t capitalised the way we could have.”
Johns believes the amount of individual quality David Healy has in his squad has bailed them out at times during this campaign and he warns rival teams to look out if and when the champions click into top gear.
CLIFTONVILLE
5
LARNE 1 0
RONAN Doherty is eager to add more goals to his locker after rifling home a rare winner for Cliftonville against title-chasing Larne.
The midfielder, better known for his touch and vision in deeper lying positions, pounced to fire home five minutes into Saturday’s windswept scrap at Solitude.
It was only his third goal for the Reds and his first in the league for Paddy Mclaughlin’s men since joining the club from Institute in 2019.
His two previous goals came in a
Shield victory over Linfield last season and a thumping 6-0 Irish Cup win over Mid-ulster minnows Hanover 13 months ago.
“I don’t score too many and this is my first in the league, but hopefully that’s the start of it because I really need to pitch in with more,” said Doherty.
“It’s something I need to improve on and Paddy has been giving me a bit of stick that I should be pushing up and shooting a lot more.
“We need more goals from midfield and if I can add that to my game and help the team out with a few more, I’ll be more than happy.
“I do feel I can do it, I just need to be more confident in those areas. I’ve tried to push up an extra 10 or 15 yards and have a few extra shots. I just need to go for it more often.”
Doherty believes the January window signing of attacking midfielder Rory Hale has brought added momentum and cohesion to the Cliftonville engine room.
“He’s a joy to play with,” he said. “Since Rory has come in, he has given us a lot more balance in midfield and it has also given me a lot more confidence and freedom to play
“You also know if you give him the ball, he’ll run all day, so it has given us a big boost.”
Doherty had the
Reds ahead early doors when
Larne got caught playing out from the back, the midfielder arrowing a low shot past Conor Devlin from 18 yards out.
The visitors, now with just two wins in their last nine outings, pressed for an equaliser, but a Jeff Hughes (inset) header from a Mark Randall free-kick was ruled out for offside.
Reds keeper Aaron Mccarey also palmed a Dean Jarvis piledriver over the bar before Hughes volleyed the wrong side of the post at the death.
“It was an important result,” said Doherty. “Larne are a good side, so to see the game out with a clean sheet was probably the biggest thing of all for us.
“It’s a big three points, but it’s important we kick on now if we want to climb the table,”
Larne boss Tiernan Lynch said: “We conceded early and were up against it after that. We didn’t get going and the conditions didn’t help, but we’ve got to take it on the chin and move on.”
CLIFTONVILLE: Mccarey, Breen, O’reilly, C. Curran, R. Curran, Donnelly, Bagnall, Doherty, Hale, Lowe, O’neill subs Dunne (not used), O’connor (replaced O’neill 85), Mccrudden (not used), Foster (not used), Casey (not used), Kearns (not used), Coffey (replaced Coffey 70). LARNE: Devlin, Kelly, Watson, Sule, Randall, Hale, Mottley-henry, Cosgrove, Hughes, Jarvis, Mcmurray subs C. Mitchell (not used), Herron (replaced Mcmurray 68), Mcdaid (replaced Mottley-henry 62), Lynch (not used), A. Mitchell (not used), Mckendry (replaced Randall 84), Wade Slater (not used).