Conor McMenamin is the main man for high-flying Glentoran

McMenamin not only bagged a delightful double in the 4-0 win over Larne - but provided the other two goals for Jay Donnelly and Danny Purkis to send the home fans wild with delight in the top-of-the-table clash.

The Glens haven’t had their hands on the Gibson Cup since 2009 – they certainly have the look of champions these days. They are now two points clear at the summit – and still have a game in hand.

This performance was certainly one of title intent. Little wonder the fans gave the team a rousing ovation at the finish.

As for Larne, not only did they lose their place at the top but they looked a shadow of the side that demolished Linfield only six days earlier.

The Glens had an early let-off when Daniel Kearns’ corner-kick found Leroy Millar at the back post, only to see his goal-bound header bounce off the back of Paddy McClean for a fruitless corner-kick.

Glentoran had better luck on 10 minutes when Ben Doherty brought down Shay McCartan wide on the right. McMenamin whipped in the free-kick that somehow found its way into the net off the back post – a goal that will give shot-stopper Rohan Ferguson nightmares.

Now with confidence oozing, the Glens went looking for a second. McMenamin produced a little piece of magic on the right before picking out James Singleton at the back post, but his header was cleared by the alert Cain Bolger.

Larne had to wait until 33 minutes for the first sniff of goal at the other end. Doherty’s corner-kick was met by the towering Bolger, whose header fizzed past the post.

Doherty was again the provider in the visitors’ next attack. His corner-kick from the right ping-ponged around the six-yard box and when Shaun Want attempted to turn the ball over the line, Jay Donnelly somehow got in a great block.

The game erupted for all the wrong reasons just before the interval when Bolger collided with Ruaidhri Donnelly, with the home faithful calling for referee Raymond Crangle to show the Larne man a red card...but the official opted for yellow.

Following a bout of sparring after the restart, it was the Glens who struck the decisive blow on 59 minutes.

Once again, it was McMenamin’s trickery that led the Larne defence a merry dance on the the right and, when he whipped in the most delicious of deliveries, Donnelly came steaming in at the back post to power home with the flick of his head.

It could have been even worse for Larne. Hughes’s back header to Ferguson fell woefully short on 63 minutes, leaving substitute Purkis with a big chance, but he could only shoot against the legs of the goalkeeper.

But he made amends on 67 minutes. Inevitably, it was McMenamin who was the tormentor-in-chief, once more creating havoc on the right before his cross was tapped home by the unmarked Purkis.

But that man still wasn’t finished. In another lighting break on the right, he cut in before unleashing a stinging drive that flew past Ferguson off the head of Faud Sule.