David Healy blasts 'rubbish' Linfield second-half performance as his side 'outworked and outfought' in Glentoran defeat

The Blues, who still sit top of the table but could be displaced by Ballymena United this afternoon if they beat Loughgall, took an early lead through talisman Joel Cooper – his sixth league goal of the season.

However, the tide turned after the break with Jay Donnelly, Frankie Hvid and ex-Linfield midfielder Cammy Palmer all getting their names on the scoresheet in perhaps the most significant result for Declan Devine since taking permanent charge at The Oval in April.

The Glens had only won one of their last five league matches heading into Friday’s fixture while Healy’s men had suffered just one defeat all season – a 1-0 loss to defending champions Larne – but the former Northern Ireland international says he “can’t accept” the display from his team.

"First half we were good, second half we were rubbish," he told BBC Sport NI. "We can't accept that. We can't accept that level of performance.

"We were outworked and outfought and that's the disappointing thing."

Linfield, who have scored more league goals (20) than any other side this term, had multiple chances to further extend their lead in the first-half – Flashscore credit them with seven shots and three on target as new Glentoran goalkeeper Daniel Gyollai continues to impress upon his arrival into the Irish League.

In contrast, the visitors had just one effort on goal in the first 45 minutes, but that metric stood at seven come the end of the second as Devine’s side dished out the ultimate punishment.

"Coming in at half-time, you're not thinking the game is safe, we always knew there was going to be a reaction. Glentoran got the reaction, we didn't,” added Healy. "The second-half performance was a shock because we were so on top in the first half.

"This one leaves a sour taste because it's a derby game, we underperformed in the second-half. We looked as if we lacked a real fighting spirit which is disappointing from a manager's point of view."