Irish League Football

Watch highlights as Ballymena United draw 0-0 with Bangor at the Showgrounds in the Irish Premiership.

Igor Rutkowski missed an early penalty for the Sky Blues while Oisin Devlin was sent off for Bangor after receiving two yellow cards.

Read more: Rutkowski misses penalty as Ballymena draw with Bangor

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Larne goalkeeper Rohan Ferguson has been named the Irish Premiership Player of the Month for March by the Northern Ireland Football Writers' Association.

Ferguson played a key role in helping table toppers Larne to three important league wins over Dungannon Swifts, Glenavon and Cliftonville in the month.

He also made three saves in the Inver Reds' penalty shootout Irish Cup quarter-final win over Glentoran at the Oval.

"I'd like to thank Sports Direct and the Football Writers' for this award. It's always nice to be recognised as sometimes goalkeepers are overlooked when it comes to individual awards," he said.

"After a fantastic run, we've lost our last two games – both to Coleraine – so it is up to us to go out there and get back on track."

Ferguson, who signed a new four-year deal in October, praised boss Gary Haveron, who won the managerial award, for persuading him to extend his stay at Inver Park.

"I had a year left, the club offered me a new deal and Gaz spoke to me at the time. I wasn't sure if I wanted to go back to Scotland or stay here," Ferguson explained.

"But Gaz showed a massive amount of faith in me, and I think that's hard to come by in football. It made up my mind. Gaz was a massive, massive part of me staying here."

Coleraine defender Charles Dunne was runner-up while Ballymena United striker Igor Rutkowski was third.

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Glentoran boss Declan Devine says goal difference in the Premiership title race is going to be "huge" after his side thumped Dungannon Swifts 5-0 on Saturday.

The win keeps the Glens three points behind leaders Larne, who beat Linfield 2-0 in the early kick-off, but the top two are now level on goal difference with two games left.

Next up for the Glentoran is Friday night's huge showdown against Larne at the Oval, with the destiny of the Gibson Cup at stake.

"Goal difference is going to be huge and we knew today that, if presented with opportunities, we needed to take them but I did feel we also left a couple of goals behind," said Devine.

"But the pleasing thing for us is to get five goals at home against a very good Dungannon side and also keep a clean sheet."

Jordan Stewart, Aaron McEneff, Josh Daniels, Daniel Larmour and Jordan Jenkins were on target as the Glens eased to victory.

"Obviously the scoreline would suggest it but I thought we thoroughly deserved the win.

"We were missing players so full credit to the squad we had today because they really dug deep at times.

"Some of our football was excellent - there were a couple of goals in the five that were really high level."

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Coleraine manager Ruaidhri Higgins says he takes responsibility for the fact that his side had to recover from an early 2-0 deficit to overcome Cliftonville 6-2 in Saturday's Irish Premiership game at Ballycastle Road.

Goals from Joe Gormley and Liam McStravick saw the Bannsiders trail by two after the opening quarter of the contest but the home side blasted back to take victory, Joel Cooper grabbing a hat-trick and Matthew Shevlin contributing two.

The win keeps Higgins' charges in touch with leaders Larne, whom they trail by five points ahead of the final two rounds of fixtures, and two behind second-placed Glentoran.

"I take a wee bit of responsibility for the first 20 minutes or so. We got our shape wrong and they exploited the areas where we were vacant," Higgins told BBC Sport NI.

"We had to change our shape and the players responded brilliantly.

"We scored some brilliant goals today and the first one was a key one because it got the crowd up and it got our players believing and we went from strength to strength from there on.

"It's probably a game that in the first half of the season we might not have come back in. But there's a real resilience in this group now, there's quality."

The Coleraine boss praised prolific pairing Cooper and Shevlin, but also pointed out the impact of the players who have been provide the ammunition.

"We're on an extremely good run. Since the Larne game in early January we have lost one league game but we need to keep this momentum going until the end of the season.

"They [Cooper and Shevlin] know where the net is but they'll be the first to tell you that when you have the likes of [Ben] Wylie and [Jamie] Glackin and [Will] Patching, attack-minded players around them, it gives them every opportunity to score goals.

"As much as they have great quality, they have great quality around them as well."

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Linfield manager David Healy has defended his decision to rest some key players in Saturday's 2-0 defeat by title-chasing Larne at Windsor Park.

The Blues boss made seven changes from the starting team which defeated Dungannon on Tuesday and handed debuts to young players Jon Graham, Finlay Ross and Oliver Wade.

Linfield sit fourth in the table and cannot finish any higher or lower than that position while Larne are three points ahead of Glentoran at the summit as they chase a third Premiership crown in four seasons.

The Glens trounced Dungannon Swifts 5-0 later in the day to keep up their pursuit of the pacesetters.

"We mixed it up a little bit. There were players who haven't played enough minutes got deserved minutes today and other young boys who showed up very nicely," explained Healy after the game.

"We're in a position where we have to protect players who are on three or four yellow cards and we can't afford to have suspensions.

"Kyle McClean was carrying an injury and Matthew Fitzpatrick and Kyle Millar have probably played 90% of the games this year.

"I've been in this league for years and I've seen players rested because they are in cup finals, because they are carrying knocks, so I don't see the issue.

"I have to protect the football club, I have to protect the players, I have to give players opportunities, give younger players minutes."

Larne manager Gary Haveron was pleased with the outcome and is looking forward to facing the Glens in a key game at the Oval on Friday, a game which will be broadcast live on BBC iPlayer.

"We know how difficult it is to come to Windsor Park and get a result. The result was all that mattered, Delighted to get the three points and put us in the position we are in," the Larne boss told BBC Sport NI.

"It's important we go into next week with things in our own hands.

"It's going to be a huge game. We'll have to freshen up and regroup. We'll have people back, Dylan Sloan will be back and Leroy Millar will be back. It's a challenge that we look forward to and we need to be at our best.

"It's a tough place to go, they're a big physical team and you know what to expect. They're experienced too. But we've been there in the league and been there in the cup and we've shown that we can handle the pressure of playing at the Oval."

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Portadown boss Niall Currie said his side's display in their 4-0 thrashing by Crusaders at Seaview was "inexcusable".

The Crues raced into a 3-0 lead before the half-hour mark courtesy of goals from Keiran McKechnie, Fraser Bryden and Elliot Dunlop.

Bryden added a fourth in the second half against a dismal Ports side, with Currie left questioning his players' commitment after the game.

"Abysmal. Inexcusable really to a certain degree. Certain players were sitting on the beach already and I'm not having it and I told the players that," he told BBC Sport NI.

"We've a few players coming out of contract and we have a few secured so I'm not having that. Too many players looked as if the season was over for them. If they're going to do that for us and the supporters, they'll do it at the next club.

"We started awfully, gave the ball away consistently in the first 20 minutes, I've never seen a worse start like it. We didn't track runs and didn't work hard enough and the bottom line is they worked harder than us and deserved it.

"If that's what we're going to get from certain players who are negotiating new contracts then it's not going to happen. I'm not accepting that because that tells me some people can pick and choose their games and that's not the case."

Crusaders boss Declan Caddell was understandably delighted by the "clinical edge" shown by his side as they picked up a first league win since 3 January which moves them off the bottom of the table before their crunch game against relegation rivals Glenavon next week.

"We carried on Tuesday's performance [1-1 draw with Bangor] into today and I thought one to 11 the boys were outstanding," he said.

"Some of the play today was really good. We've been waiting on that, Fraser Bryden playing in a deeper role and he weighed in with two goals. It sets up nicely for next week."

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Larne boss Gary Haveron is the Northern Ireland Football Writers' Association manager of the month for March.

Haveron guided Larne to four victories in their four games in March that included an Irish Cup penalty shootout win over Glentoran in the quarter-finals as well as league victories over Dungannon Swifts, Glenavon and Cliftonville.

Larne scored eight goals in March and conceded just two as they maintained their advantage at the top of the Irish Premiership table that has since been cut to three points following Tuesday's 4-1 defeat against Coleraine.

It is the third time Haveron has won the monthly award this season, after claiming the prize in September when he initially stood in after Nathan Rooney's departure from the club and in November when Larne enjoyed a 100% winning record in the Irish Premiership that month.

"It's always an honour to win this award, it would not be possible without the help of our backroom staff and the players, who have worked so hard this season," Haveron said.

"Unfortunately, we've not carried our March form into April with the two defeats against Coleraine [in the Irish Cup and in the league].

"But that's football. There's still plenty to play for with three massive league games between now and the end of the season, starting with Linfield on Saturday.

"We're three points clear and we have to take advantage of that. We know we're capable of beating any team in the league.

"We know how strong Linfield are, and they will be tough to beat at Windsor. We just need to be the best version of ourselves, and if we get an honest performance from the lads and they leave it all out there on the pitch, regardless of the result, I'll be proud of them."

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The Northern Ireland Football League [NIFL] have confirmed that the postponed Irish Premiership match between Ballymena United and Bangor will now be played on Tuesday, 14 April at the Ballymena Showgrounds [19:45 BST].

The fixture was due to be played on Saturday, 7 April but the pitch failed an inspection.

The match was the sixth at the Showgrounds to be postponed due to an unplayable pitch this year.

Ballymena sit 10th in the Premiership with the Seasiders ninth and two points ahead of the Sky Blues.

On Saturday, Bangor host Glenavon and Ballymena travel to play Carrick Rangers.

Elsewhere, Linfield welcome Larne, Coleraine meet Cliftonville, Crusaders face Portadown and Glentoran play Dungannon Swifts.

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Glentoran assistant manager Tim McCann said the side's 2-1 victory over Cliftonville has given them "a bit of a chance" in the Irish Premiership title race.

Goals from Jordan Stewart and Pat Hoban secured the crucial three points for the east Belfast side.

The result, paired with Coleraine's thrashing of league leaders Larne, means that the Glens are now just three points off the top of the Irish Premiership.

"You can't depend on other teams, we have to look after our own back yard," McCann told BBC Sport NI.

"We have spoken about it all week that we can't control what happens elsewhere but let's look after our own destiny and let's make teams work for it and do what we do. Whatever happens elsewhere, happens elsewhere.

"We have given ourselves a bit of a chance, we have to go at it again and it will be a very difficult game against a very good Dungannon side."

The Glens are now unbeaten in their past eight league games and were the 2-0 victors last time they travelled to Stangmore Park to face the Swifts.

Despite the important win, McCann also acknowledged that the side "weren't at our best" at Solitude.

"It is buoyant in the changing rooms," he continued.

"We probably felt that we left a bit out there, we weren't at our best and we probably didn't get the ball down as much as we should.

"At this stage of the season, every manager and team will tell you, it doesn't always work. It wasn't for the lack of trying. Sometimes when you try certain things, it doesn't work out.

"But we got our two goals, we got the three points and we'll move on and see what happens from here."

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Larne manager Gary Haveron says the first-half dismissal of Dan Bent was the key moment as the Premiership leaders fell to a 4-1 home defeat by Coleraine.

Matthew Shevlin gave the Bannsiders an early lead before Bent was red-carded by referee Jamie Robinson on 35 minutes following a challenge on the Coleraine striker.

Andy Ryan levelled with a penalty for Larne, who were beaten by the Bannsiders in Saturday's Irish Cup semi-final, before second-half goals from Ben Wylie, Will Patching and Shevlin secured a comfortable win for the visitors.

Glentoran's 2-1 win at Cliftonville saw them narrow the gap to Larne to three points with three games left.

"We obviously didn't start the game well, going 1-0 down after 90 seconds," said Haveron.

"After that it was a quite an evenly matched game but the sending off absolutely kills you because you're down to 10 men against a really top side, when you've just played 120 minutes on Saturday.

"I need to see it back again but there is no real clear footage of it. Their bench was screaming and yelling at Jamie Robinson and he makes the decision.

"We battled hard to get it back to 1-1 and great credit to the boys, they showed heart and desire.

"I just felt we ran out of steam and they over-ran us at the end. Big decisions change the outcome of games and we've been on the wrong side of that tonight."