Gary Haveron calls for Larne to 'stick together and keep fighting' as they look to end winless Premiership run at Loughgall
Larne head coach Gary Haveron has called for his side to “stick together and keep fighting” as they look to end their winless Premiership run against bottom side Loughgall.
The Inver Reds are enduring a testing period after Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Dungannon Swifts condemned them to a fourth defeat across their last five matches while it also marked the fourth time they’ve failed to score during that streak.
Having celebrated back-to-back Gibson Cup triumphs, Larne have almost certainly lost their crown to runaway leaders Linfield, who currently hold a whopping 27-point advantage over Haveron’s side and are 19 better off than second-placed Glentoran despite a weekend loss to Coleraine.
Larne are in the midst of a hectic fixture schedule – they’ll play 14 league games across the months of February and March while Wednesday’s trip to Loughgall marks a fourth consecutive week including midweek action.
Despite current struggles, the County Antrim outfit will still firmly have their sights set on finishing second and securing automatic European football for next term, and Haveron acknowledges there’s no other option but to fight.
"That’s football and we have another game on Wednesday...we’ll prepare for a fight and scrap down at Loughgall because that’s what it’s going to be,” he said. "Momentum is massive and it works both ways.
"If you’re winning, you just roll into the next game and momentum carries you through, but it’s the same when you’re not winning then everything comes under the microscope.
"Key players are injured, everything gets magnified with results when you’re on a run so it is both ways.
"All we can do is stick together and keep fighting.”
Across the last 15 Premiership matches played by each team, only Ballymena United (14), Loughgall (14) and Carrick Rangers (nine) have scored fewer goals than Larne (15) – attacking output which is a far cry from the form of recent seasons.
Larne averaged 2.2 goals per match last season on their way to winning the title, outscoring every other top-flight opponent, but this term that number stands at 1.1.
A major factor behind that is the summer departure of Lee Bonis, who netted 17 times, while Andy Ryan struck 24 goals compared to seven so far this campaign.
Haveron’s side squandered a number of chances during their Dungannon defeat and the former Glentoran chief hopes fortunes will change soon.
"I’d be a lot more concerned if we weren’t creating chances,” he added. "We created numerous chances in the first-half, missed a massive chance at the back post in the second half and missed other chances too.
"The disappointing thing is we haven’t taken our chances but I’d be more concerned if we weren’t creating them.
"We were creating chances and looked a big threat in the game.
"The disappointing thing is that it was a kick in the teeth for the boys, a real blow to concede 20 seconds before half-time and it was sloppy from our end.
"Every little chance teams are getting against us at the minute they seem to be taking and that’s the frustration.”