NI Premiership Round-up - Week 31
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With one game left before the league is due to split it is now certain that Linfield will be relinquishing their League crown as a comprehensive 3-0 defeat to Crusaders has seen them fall nineteen points behind Cliftonville with six games left to play.
The win moves Crusaders to within fourteen points of their North Belfast rivals, with a game in hand, and with the teams due to meet twice more in the league the victory over Linfield has kept their fading championship alive.
The outgoing champions vacated their crown with a whimper as they were comfortably beaten with Jordan Owens curling in the opening goal for the Crues on 24 minutes before Declan Caddell slotted home the second eight minutes later.
Timmy Adamson gave the Blues defence a torrid time in front of the visiting Sky TV cameras and it was he who picked out Owens again to complete the scoring on 55 minutes.
Linfield will now be looking over their shoulder as Glentoran crept to within five points of their “Big Two” rivals as they stretched their unbeaten run in the league to six matches with a convincing win over Ballinamallard United.
Former Longford Town keeper Alvin Rouse gifted the Glens the opener when his poor clearance was pounced on by David Howland who fed Richard Clarke and his lob sailed over the stranded Rouse and into the net. Martin Murray netted the home side’s second after Andrew Waterworth had got down the right to cross from the bye-line and Waterworth then made it 3-0 in the 77th minute by shooting in from a tight angle for his 19th goal of the season.
Two goals from Ciaran Caldwell and a third from Liam Boyce gave Cliftonville a win over Glenavon and briefly open up a seventeen point gap until Crusaders played on Monday night. Mark Farren scored a consolation for Glenavon late on but could not prevent his side falling to a third straight defeat in the league.
The battle at the foot of the table went the way of an improving Donegal Celtic side as goals from Stephen O’Neill and Sean Cleary gave them a 2-1 victory over Lisburn Distillery who are now eight points adrift at the bottom of the league.
Elsewhere Coleraine secured a top six finish with victory over Dungannon Swifts while Portadown will almost certainly play out the season in the bottom half as they were held to a goalless draw by Ballymena United.
