Floodlight failure at The Oval leads to postponement as Larne boss Gary Haveron express concerns over fixture congestion

In a dress rehearsal at the BetMcLean Oval on Saturday, both kept their cards close to their chest in a game that was stopped after 54 minutes due to a floodlight failure.

The reality is, it was a total bore and, perhaps relief for both sets of supporters, when referee Christopher Morrison decided the game must be replayed at a later date.

Former Northern Ireland international midfielder McCourt is convinced the Shield decider will be different.

The Glens will be looking to lift the trophy for the first time in 15 years, while they will be out to prevent Larne creating a little piece of local football history by becoming the first team to parade the giant piece of silverware for the fifth success season.

“It’s an opportunity for the club to bring back a bit of silverware,” said McCourt. “It’s a final against one of the most successful teams over the past few years, in terms of winning the league title.

“It will be a good test for us. I’m a big believer in winning breeds confidence. If we could manage to lift the trophy, it would put us in good stead for the rest of the season.

“The fans also deserve a bit of success; they have been brilliant all season. Even earlier in the season when our league form was a big inconsistent, they still stuck with us.

“Now that we’ve been a little bit more consistent over the last eight or nine weeks, they are enjoying it. Our ticket allocation for the final was sold out very quickly, so it shows they are really behind the group of players that are here at the minute.

“Hopefully, it will be a better game. Both teams may be a little bit fresher for Tuesday after the game was stopped early, that’s one way of looking at it. There was nothing between the teams for 54 minutes . . . it could have gone either way.”

McCourt had no complaints with the referee’s decision.

“What happened was out of our control and out of Larne’s control,” he added. “After five minutes or so (after the stoppage), the information was the lights were not coming back on, so with the game scoreless, I don’t think anyone can be too disappointed.”

Larne chief Gary Haveron insists the abandonment just adds to Larne’s fixture chaos.

“It’s now a big concern to get all our outstanding games played before the split (the final five games when the league divides into two sections),” he said. “It’s going to be very difficult to juggle games.

“We have been working closely with NIFL on our fixture pile-up since the start of the season. Yes, we were thrilled to qualify for the group stages in Europe – the UEFA Conference League – but on the flip side, it has a knock-on effect of having to play all these games.

“There are plenty of fixtures to be played, but truth be told, I would rather be sitting with the points in the kitty. Linfield are another three points away from us as well, that makes it even more frustrating.

“It has been a smooth sailing for them, they keep on grinding out results. There are always things beyond our control, and happened at the Oval was beyond our control. It’s unfortunate. It was a game that both teams would have liked to have brought to a conclusion.”