Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
FOURCE IS STRONG WITH LARNE
Quality of football on show at Inver Park is second to none as Lynch’s men march into final by putting 10-man Blues to the sword
LARNE are preparing for their first senior final in 15 years after an emphatic win over 10-man Linfield in last night’s County Antrim Shield semi-final at Inver Park.
A majestic Marty Donnelly freekick, a Davy Mcdaid brace and late Jo hn Herron h ead er prop el l ed Tiernan Lynch’s men into a December shootout with Glentoran.
The last time the Inver Reds reached the Shield final was in the 1970s, while the club’s last senior final of any description was the 2005 Irish Cup showpiece which they lost to Portadown.
Linfield boss David Healy, whose last domestic defeat was a 3-1 loss at Inver in January, must wonder if the venue holds a curse over him.
But while Stephen Fallon’s 13th minute red card for a foul on Mark Randall had a bearing on the result, no one could doubt the quality of Larne’s play.
In full flight the Inver Reds are a joy to watch and in Donnelly, Mcdaid and the equally lively Lee Lynch they have a front three to strike fear into any defence.
Such is this team’s energy, precision and cutting edge, they are producing football on a par with anything we have witnessed in the past 20 years.
Linfield, who prior to last night had won 10 straight domestic games dating back to that January defeat, were ahead inside seven minutes.
It came from an unlikely source, young centre back Ross Larkin heading home his first goal for the club from a Navid Nasseri free-kick.
The Blues were on the ropes when Fallon received his marching orders for his early foul on Randal just outside the penalty area.
The Blues midfielder coughed up possession 25 yards out and appeared to pull the Larne player back as he raced through on goal. End result? Red card.
It got worse for the visitors from the resulting free-kick, Donnelly stepping up to caress a superb shot over the wall and past the despairing dive of Chris Johns.
What a wonderful player the 32-year-old is and he seems to be getting better.
He was inches away from repeating the trick eight minutes later, but this time his curling free crashed off the bar with Johns little more than a spectator.
Larne were rampant and Mcdaid, fresh from two goals in two minutes in Saturday’s 2-0 league win over Ballymena, made it 2-1 on the half hour mark.
A slick move involving Lynch and Donnelly saw the ball fizz across the area. Linfield passed up a chance to clear and Lynch fed Mcdaid to make no mistake from close range.
It was game over in the 67th minute when Mcdaid pounced for his second of the night, prodding home from close range after Lynch lobbed the ball over Johns.
It was 4-1 in the 86th minute when substitute John Herron stooped at the near post to head a whipped Donnelly corner into the far corner.
Larne received a further welcome boost near the end when Johnny Mcmurray came on for his first appearance since damaging his knee in January.
Another highpoint on a memorable night at Inver Park.