Gary Haveron welcomes Larne 'headache' with several key players making returns
Larne manager Gary Haveron admits team selection is becoming an increasingly difficult task with key players returning and his side performing to a high level following their 2-0 Premiership win over Cliftonville.
In what was Haveron’s first match since signing a three-year contract to take over at Inver Park on a permanent basis, Larne enjoyed the perfect start at Solitude with Tomas Cosgrove scoring after only three minutes against his former club.
Tiarnan O’Connor doubled Larne’s advantage before the half-hour mark and Haveron’s men were able to see out victory in North Belfast, getting back to winning ways after defeat to Dungannon Swifts in their previous league fixture.
With Ryan Nolan missing out through injury, Aaron Donnelly was handed his first Premiership start of the season while Leroy Millar continued to build towards full fitness, playing the final 30 minutes after being introduced off the bench.
Striker Paul O’Neill was also named in a league matchday squad for the first time throughout this campaign having returned from suspension.
With the likes of Andy Ryan still to come back into Haveron’s panel following long-term injury, the Larne chief is delighted with the options at his disposal.
"Ryan had a tight groin and hadn't trained so it was the perfect opportunity for us to get Aaron Donnelly back in,” he told the club’s media channel. “He has been immense since he came to the club, he's a real stalwart within the club for us, so it was great to get him back and get the minutes.
"It was great to get Leroy back out there for the last 35 minutes. We're still managing him a little bit, but he's getting stronger by the day.
"To have that strength in depth coming off the bench...bringing Paul O'Neill back who has missed a lot of football up to this point, Kobei Moore is building on an excellent performance away to Dergview where he scored an unbelievable hat-trick.
"All in all, it's great to have that strength in depth in the group, it's something we didn't have at the start of the year.
"Every time anybody has stepped in and been asked questions, they've come up with all the right answers. It's making it more difficult to manage I suppose because they're giving me a headache in terms of team selection."
Nick Giannotti, who is part of Larne’s new ownership group, was present at Solitude to watch his club pick up victory after spending time at their training base during the week.
Giannotti witnessed Larne keep their seventh league clean sheet of the season – no top-flight team has more – and Haveron was happy to see a positive reaction from his squad.
"This is a really difficult league so you don't want to give anybody an advantage on you,” he added. “Getting the first goal is very important.
"I was really pleased with the reaction we got from the boys today. They came out of the traps really firing.
"We had Nick with us pre-match and he spoke to the boys. It's nice to see the ownership group a little bit more and I was delighted for him to be here to see us pick up the result."