Gary Haveron counts cost of Dan Bent red card in Larne defeat against Coleraine
Larne’s Premiership title hopes were dealt a blow after the league leaders were beaten 4-1 at home by Coleraine.
Dan Bent was sent off in the first half, which Larne boss Gary Haveron said was the decisive moment in Tuesday’s match.
Bent saw red for a challenge on Coleraine striker Jamie Robinson in the 35th minute.
Matthew Shevlin gave the visitors the lead but 10-man Larne levelled through an Andy Ryan penalty.
However, Ben Wylie, Will Patching and Shevlin struck in the second half to condemn Larne to another defeat after Coleraine triumphed against Haveron’s side in Saturday's Irish Cup semi-final.
“We obviously didn't start the game well, going 1-0 down after 90 seconds,” said Haveron. “After that it was a quite an evenly matched game but the sending off absolutely kills you because you're down to 10 men against a really top side, when you've just played 120 minutes on Saturday.
“I need to see it back again but there is no real clear footage of it. Their bench was screaming and yelling at Jamie Robinson and he makes the decision.
“We battled hard to get it back to 1-1 and great credit to the boys, they showed heart and desire.
“I just felt we ran out of steam and they over-ran us at the end. Big decisions change the outcome of games and we've been on the wrong side of that tonight.”
Coleraine manager Ruaidhri Higgins said the result was in stark contrast to his last visit to Inver Park in January.
“It's a long way from my emotions and feelings when we were back here in early January (3-0 loss to Larne at Inver Park),” he told Coleraine’s social media channels.
“I thought right from minute one we were the dominant team. I know they got their penalty but I felt throughout the game we were outstanding.
“We picked a team full of legs and energy and running power. We've come here and been absolutely fantastic and could have scored a lot more goals.
“We've created a load of chances and the players deserve huge, huge credit. It's such a good performance...they've been amazing over the last four days, as have our supporters.”
Also on Tuesday, Linfield beat Dungannon Swifts 3-1 at Stangmore Park, while Crusaders and Bangor played out a 1-1 draw at Seaview.