Larne won't offer 'any excuses' for Portadown defeat, says boss Tiernan Lynch as Inver Reds are stunned by fightback
Larne manager Tiernan Lynch says his side will have to “stick together” after losing their third Premiership game of the season at Portadown yesterday.
The reigning champions held the half-time lead as Conor McKendry’s strike from distance cannoned off the post and hit Portadown stopper Aaron McCarey before crossing the line.
However, Portadown rallied after the interval and equalised through Eamon Fyfe’s finish before Shay McCartan’s wonder strike – from inside his own half – completed the comeback for Niall Currie’s men.
Speaking to Larne’s social media platforms after the game, Lynch said a lack of proficiency in both boxes is to blame for recent results and not their involvement in European competition.
"I'm definitely not going to stand here and start trying to look for excuses, Thursday night and everything that goes with it,” he added.
"Believe it or not, I thought some of the things we done today we did really well.
"We played some really good football at times, we were very dominant at times, we're just struggling to put the ball in the net at the moment and conceding stupid goals.
"When that's the case...it's not really a recipe to win football games.”
Lynch added that his Larne side, who have won the last two Gibson Cup titles, can ill-afford to feel sorry for themselves and that hard work is needed to pick up more consistent results.
"Obviously the easiest thing for me to do is to come out and start looking to point fingers and blame...that's not what we're about,” he stated.
"We now just have to keep sticking together here, we have to regroup and we're probably going to feel sorry for ourselves a little bit and talk about the rub of the green with the likes of the winning goal.
"When things aren't going your way, those types of things seem to happen.
"We've just got to stay calm, we've got to stay composed, we've got to get back on the pitch and we've got to keep working.
"It's up to us to turn it around and that's the message.”
Lynch confirmed that defender Tomas Cosgrove – who limped off against Shamrock Rovers last Thursday – is set to be out “longer term”.