Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
CHAMPAGNE BACK IN THE ICE BUCKET
It’s as you were as top two both draw
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BY PHIL FINNEGAN
LINFIELD remain in control of their own destiny after a tense afternoon at Windsor Park ended in stalemate.
A raucous home crowd chanted, ‘We’re gonna win the league’ in the early minutes in south Belfast and well their team might – but they’ll know Coleraine could play the partypoopers next Saturday evening.
Crusaders almost kept their part of the bargain in a thrilling 3-3 draw with Cliftonville at Seaview but two goals from Ryan Curran kept the Reds in the race – just.
After 16 minutes of shadow boxing, Linfield’s Eetu Vertainen drilled a daisy-cutter at goal that had Larne keeper Rohan Ferguson at full stretch.
Minutes later, the Finnish striker went down in the box under a challenge from Jeff Hughes but referee Tim Marshall waved play on.
Larne had no problem claiming their share of possession but they were far too ponderous, and when they tried to inject a bit of urgency, their precision left a lot to be desired.
They carried little threat in the first half, bar a couple of Mark Randall pot-shots, with Linfield making most of the running. But the Blues suffered a blow on the half-hour when Jamie Mulgrew injured his ankle in a challenge that saw Fuad Sure booked and the home skipper stretchered off, with Kyle McClean entering the fray.
David Healy would have been pleased to see his side maintain their intensity until the break but they looked a little rudderless, relying on set-pieces as they failed to find a way through the visitors’ resolute rearguard.
The tactic nearly paid off two minutes after the restart when Ben Hall got his head to a Niall Quinn corner but Ferguson pulled off a fine ave and his defence mopped up the danger.
Larne finally began to find a bit of much-needed thrust and Randall released Davy McDaid in the 56th minute but the striker’s low shot was too close to Chris Johns.
Sensing their team needed a lift, the home fans – with news filtering through from Seaview
Cliftonville were behind – pumped up the volume even further but Larne were winning most of the 50/50s now by hungrily hunting in packs.
A hush then descended on the ground for the first time in the 74th minute when Larne sub Ben Kennedy broke clear down the right and rolled the ball across to McDaid, lurking by the penalty spot.
The net seemed certain to bulge but the former Cliftonville striker scooped an awful effort over the bar.
Back came Linfield, with Kirk Millar picking out Vertainen with a peach of a cross only for the forward to glance a header wide of the far post.
It was harum-scarum stuff between the two penalty areas from there until the end but neither side could find the requisite quality to tilt the game in their favour and so this thrilling title race is going to the wire.