Gary Haveron confirms Larne have appealed Andy Ryan red card and gives his take on Kieran Offord's Linfield winner
Larne head coach Gary Haveron has confirmed the Inver Reds have appealed the red card handed to star striker Andy Ryan during their 1-0 Premiership defeat to runaway leaders Linfield and also felt there was a clear foul in the lead up to Kieran Offord’s decisive winner.
Knowing defeat would leave David Healy’s Blues sitting 20 points ahead and firm favourites to reclaim the Gibson Cup, defending champions Larne were reduced to 10-men when last season’s Golden Boot winner Ryan received a straight red following a challenge on the stroke of half-time.
There was further controversy when Scottish star Offord squeezed home his first goal since joining Linfield from St Mirren last month after the 20-year-old collided with Ryan Nolan, leaving the Larne defender on the floor before finishing from a narrow angle.
Ryan’s dismissal is a blow for Haveron’s side ahead of their weekend trip to Portadown with Paul O’Neill suspended and Matty Lusty still out of action, but Tiarnan O’Connor should be fit enough to feature after coming off during the first half at Windsor Park.
"Some of the big decisions have went against us and what I can say is we’ve appealed it,” said Haveron. “That’s a clear indication of how we feel about the decisions that went against us.
"Because there’s an appeal in process we’re limited to what we can say regarding the matter. It’s hard not to talk about it because it’s all anybody is talking about...it overshadows the game.
"I thought we started a bit edgy which is understandable, but we built ourselves into the game, limited them to very little and probably had the best chance of the half through Paul O’Neill just before half-time.
"Windsor is never an easy place to go to at the best of times but it’s very difficult to cover that size of pitch when you go a man down.
"I’ve to give great credit to the players – they never shirked the work, worked incredibly hard and their numbers were through the roof.
"I definitely felt it was a clear and obvious foul for the goal.
"I can’t say anything more about that because it’s a decision they make in the moment but Offord steps across the line of the man running to the ball, obstructs him and he’s not in control of the ball, so by the letter of the law it’s obstruction.
"The big talking points aren’t about football, it’s about other matters, but we have to be careful because it’s in the hands of the committee.”
Ryan could be set for a three-match ban if the decision isn’t overturned, missing key matches against Portadown, Glenavon and Dungannon Swifts as Larne chase European football, and Haveron admits he didn’t get speaking to referee Shane Andrews in detail about the incident.
"I did ask when we came out of the tunnel if he’d seen it and he said ‘when would I have seen it?’,” he added. “I never really got speaking about it other than asking if he’d seen it back and I asked him to have a look at it.
"What can you do? There’s nothing as a manager that you can do. These decisions are totally out of your control...they are making such an impact on the game but there’s nothing you can say or do about it.
"I’ll leave it in the hands of the people that are in charge to see what happens and where it goes.”