Irish Premier League: Larne extends lead with huge win over Glentoran

It was a lively start to the game, with Larne having a shot blocked on the woodwork in the first two minutes when Sean Graham’s shot hit the crossbar.

The visitors then broke the deadlock in the seventh minute when they were awarded a penalty after MJ Kamara handled the ball inside the box and O’Neill scored the resulting penalty.

After conceding, the Glens settled into the game and equalized when the Larne defense failed to clear Cooney’s long throw before Daniel Larmour headed the ball home.

The feisty, fast-paced pace of the match continued with the home side reduced to 10 men when Tony Clarke gave Cooney his marching orders for a poor challenge on Graham.

In the final five minutes of the first half, the Inver Reds took the lead again with former Glens midfielder Gallagher’s 30-yard shot finding the bottom left corner.

The league leaders extended their lead nine minutes into the second half when Tiarnan O’Connor controlled the goal kick and traveled into the box before crossing for O’Neill to head home for the second time of the evening.

In the 77th minute, James Simpson stole the ball from Danny Amos and passed it to Cosgrove, who converted the ball to complete a successful night for Gary Haveron’s side.