Fri 4 Sep 2026, 21:41
Aaron McEneff’s 88th-minute penalty was not enough to prevent Glentoran suffering a 2-1 defeat against Larne at Inver Park.
After a closely contested first half, Sean Graham put the hosts ahead six minutes after the restart before Matty Lusty doubled their advantage with 18 minutes remaining.
McEneff halved the deficit from the penalty spot after Jordan Stewart had been brought down, but the Glens were unable to find a late equaliser.
Manager Declan Devine handed Conor McMenamin an immediate debut following his deadline-day return to the Club from Coleraine.
McMenamin was one of two changes to the side that faced Crusaders, with Stewart also returning to the starting XI following suspension.
Glentoran started on the front foot, with Aaron Donnelly intervening to deny McMenamin an early opportunity before Rohan Ferguson raced from his line to prevent Stewart from connecting with Ethan Brown’s cross.
At the other end, Paul O’Neill drilled wide after being released by Ronan Doherty, while Dylan Sloan was also unable to trouble Billy Crellin with an effort from distance.
Larne had the ball in the net in the 21st minute, but Lusty’s effort was ruled out for offside.
The Glens responded by striking the woodwork when Ben Gallagher’s downward header looped towards goal and clipped the crossbar on its way over.
Marcus Kane and Stewart were both booked following fouls in quick succession before Kane threatened at the other end, forcing Ferguson into action after exchanging passes with McEneff.
Ferguson was called upon again in the 38th minute, beating away McMenamin’s effort after excellent work from Ryan Cooney to regain possession and release the forward.
Glentoran were forced into a change before the interval when Josh Kelly limped off and was replaced by Jack Malone.
The hosts broke the deadlock six minutes into the second half when Chris Gallagher released Graham, who finished beyond Crellin.
Glentoran responded positively, with Kane heading narrowly over from a Cooney corner, but their task became more difficult when Lusty doubled Larne’s advantage in the 72nd minute after linking up with O’Neill.
The Glens continued to push forward and substitute Jordan Jenkins came within inches of reducing the deficit in the 86th minute, glancing Stewart’s cross narrowly wide.
They were handed a lifeline two minutes later when Dan Bent brought down Stewart inside the area. McEneff stepped forward and confidently converted the resulting penalty to set up a tense finish.
Larne went close to restoring their two-goal advantage in stoppage time, but Montel Gibson fired wide after breaking through as the hosts held on to claim the points.
Larne 2 – 1 Glentoran
Starting XI: Crellin, Cooney, Kane, Brown, Singleton, Kelly (Malone), McEneff, Douglas (Clarke), McMenamin, Gallagher (Jenkins), Stewart.
Substitutes: Mills, Daniels, Larmour, Rogers-Duffy,
