Declan Devine hails Glentoran 'steel' as Linfield miss chance to move top

The former Bohemians manager parachuted in to replace Warren Feeney last month was still haunted by Linfield’s previous visit to east Belfast eight days earlier when David Healy’s men booked a ticket to the Irish Cup final courtesy of a comprehensive 3-1 success. After a week of soul-searching, Devine demanded a massive response – and he got it as his team dug deep, especially when they were under the cosh in the second half.

But it was surprisingly a low-key affair that will not live long in the memory – played in front of one of the poorest ‘Big Two’ crowds for many years.

With Larne beaten at home by Crusaders earlier in the day, the Blues had the chance to move into pole position at the top of the Sports Direct Premiership table. But, with four games left, they remain still one point adrift of Tiernan Lynch’s title holders.

“Mentally, it was a tough game for us but that was the legacy of the cup result last week,” said Devine. “I think (Saturday’s) results show how difficult this league is, especially at this stage of the season when everyone is fighting for something.

"To be fair to both sets of players, they left everything out there...I think both teams did remarkably well in truly horrendous stormy weather conditions.

“For me, it was about our players showing a bit of steel after the pain of last week and being able to walk away with our heads held high.

"We kept a clean sheet and had two big chances to win the game, only to find their goalkeeper (Chris Johns) in magnificent form.

"You don’t win the leagues they (Linfield) have won without a top-class goalkeeper.

“No-one is celebrating a scoreless draw, but at least we can all look ourselves in the mirror knowing that we gave everything of ourselves. We put our bodies on the line.

“They gave a good positive account of themselves and restored a bit of pride.”

Linfield manager David Healy believes his boys now face ‘four cup finals’ as they chase down Larne in the title race.

“I think we missed a good chance (of reeling in Larne),” he said. “There wasn’t a lot in the game.

“The conditions were difficult. Glentoran are very direct...they don’t play, two, three, four passes; they play one and they put you under pressure.

“It’s a point, but it doesn’t really help us. However, I can’t fault the players for effort and commitment. We probably just lacked that little bit of quality in front of goal.

“We now have four cup finals coming up, starting at Crusaders (on Friday night). It’s going to be chaos.

“They have got a few players back from injury...Seaview is a difficult venue at the best of times, so it will be no place for the faint-hearted.

"But we understand the challenges that we are going to face – we know what’s at stake.”