FOLLOWING Friday night’s coronation of Larne, there was bound to be a sense of deflation surrounding the teams who had spent much of the season chasing the east Antrim men.
This was most palpable at the Oval, where a Cliftonville side whose title hopes were shattered by a disastrous recent run of bad form suffered a 3-0 defeat to Glentoran, who have now leapfrogged them in the table.
A Bobby Burns double and a first Glentoran goal for Junior Uzokwe had the Reds beaten by half-time, with assistant manager Declan O’Hara admitting his side had “collapsed”.
“You could see the heads go down. We knew right away it would happen. We’ve been on to the boys all season about it, but it just keeps happening,” O’Hara lamented.
“If I’m right, that’s 48 goals we’ve conceded in the league this season. That can’t happen, not at this level. There were a few home truths and a few harsh words said in the changing room afterwards.
“It was a tough one to take. Four or five weeks ago, we were still challenging for the league title, now we are sitting fourth and well out of it. We need to take a look at ourselves collectively – the coaching staff and the players.”
Linfield, however, kept their disappointment at bay to tighten their grip on second place with a 1-0 victory at Coleraine. A late strike from substitute Niall Quinn secured the points for David Healy’s men.
A Jack Malone goal sealed the final European play-off spot for Glenavon in a 1-0 victory over Newry City.
Portadown still have hope of escaping the automatic relegation spot as a 2-0 win over Carrick Rangers saw them move to within two points of Dungannon Swifts, who lost 2-0 at Ballymena United.
