Glentoran smash 4 past Glenavon to move top of the table
The Glens claimed 3 points at the Oval as Linfield lost at Larne
Last updated 28th Jan 2020
Glentoran now sit top of the Danske Bank Premiership after Tuesday's night's fixtures. Their victory over Glenavon put them ahead of Crusaders, and it also saw Linfield fall back to third as they were beaten away to Larne. ****
Glentoran 4-0 Glenavon
The home side broke the deadlock after 20 minutes thanks to some disastrous defending from the visitors.
Glens winger Jonny Frazer flicked a harmless header into the Glenavon box, but center-back Andrew Doyle didn't appear to hear a shout from his keeper Jonny Tuffey as he diverted the ball goalwards, allowing Paul O'Neill to tap into an empty net.
5 minutes before the break, some quick thinking at the set piece saw the Glens double their lead.
Joe Crowe took a quick free kick from a central position about 40 yards from goal, sliding a perfect through pass in behind to match the run of Navid Nasseri, who calmly rolled the ball beyond Tuffey to make it 2-0.
There was still time for Robbie McDaid to score number 3 before the break as the striker met Nasseri's excellent cross from the left to flick home a header and round off a superb first half for the Glens.
Just after the hour, McDaid turned provider as he chipped a smart pass in behind for O'Neill to dink the ball over Tuffey, scoring his second of the night to wrap up a straightforward night at the Oval.
Larne 3-1 Linfield
In a manic start at Inver Park, it was 1-1 after just 4 minutes of play.
Jordan Stewart turned Kirk Millar's cross into the net at the near post to put the Blues ahead, before striker David McDaid levelled a minute later, getting a slight touch on a looping shot from Mark Randall.
The Larne striker then made it 2-1 in the 17th minute, smashing in a right-footed shot from the 10 yards after being put clean through by Randall. The midfielder almost made it 3 towards the end of the half, but his effort clipped the bar from 8 yards.
The Blues were unable to find a way back into the game, and Harry Flowers 71st minute header made sure of the points for Larne.