Linfield and Glentoran battle out entertaining draw
Title rivals inseparable in Windsor Park battle
Linfield and Glentoran played out a high-octane 1-1 draw at Windsor Park on Friday night that took the Blues two points clear of Cliftonville at the top of the Irish Premiership table.
Jordan Stewart opened the scoring for David Healy's side when his cross just after the half hour, found the net. However, man-of-the-match Conor McMenamin levelled with a superb strike six minutes later.
Former Blues striker Michael O'Connor struck the woodwork early on as the Glens created the better chances in a superb first half.
Linfield got more of a grip on the game after the break and nearly snatched a winner through Kyle McClean while Jordan Stewart had a late effort saved by Aaron McCarey.
While the draw stretches the holders' lead at the top over the Reds to two points, it leaves third-placed Glentoran still six in the mix, with both sides now having just three games left to play.
The Reds, meanwhile, now have an opportunity to go top of the league when they host Larne on Saturday afternoon.
A win would take Paddy McLaughlin's men top and deliver yet another element of a twist in what has been a quite fascinating 2022 race for the Gibson Cup.
Linfield forged ahead in circumstances where Lady Luck somewhat shone on them when Stewart's in-swinging cross from the left wing caught out Glens defender Paddy McClean and goalkeeper McCarey before finding the net at the back post.
The Glens however did not let this dull what had been a bright opening for them and indeed they superbly responded when McMenamin equalised just six minutes later after Dillon Powers and Seanan Clucas had taken the ball from Linfield captain Jamie Mulgrew in the middle of the park.
Clucas delivered an unerring pass that split the home defence and McMenamin scampered onto it and, as he looked to be ready to shoot with his right foot, opened his body and drilled a bullet left-foot strike that blazed beyond Chris Johns and into the corner of the net.
Stewart sent a blistering shot from the edge of the box just over the crossbar seconds before his goal. However this was a relatively rare moment of creativity for the Blues in this part of the game.
Stewart crafted a promising opportunity for McClean when he made it to the by-line and cutback to the midfielder but his shot was blocked well by Caolan Marron.
The ball was not properly cleared and Matthew Clarke returned a cross to substitute Jake Hastie but his header produced a great reactionary save from McCarey.
In the closing moments of the battle, Stewart ran on to a through ball but his shot was too close to McCarey who again stood firm.