Glentoran boss Declan Devine throws full support behind 'future of the club' Johnny Russell after own goal

After Andy Ryan’s first-half strike had been cancelled out by a Cian Bolger own goal, it looked like the two teams were destined to share the points heading into the 95th minute, but Bolger’s wicked late delivery forced Russell to act and the 19-year-old could only divert the ball beyond Aaron McCarey, sparking scenes of celebration for the visitors, who are now on the cusp of retaining their Gibson Cup crown.

Russell has been one of Glentoran’s standout performers in what is his first full Premiership campaign, making 23 league appearances which also earned him a maiden call-up to Northern Ireland’s U21 squad last month.

"When I think of Glentoran I see Johnny Russell,” Devine told the club’s media channel. “He epitomises what it's all about and he will suffer his pain tonight.

"The kid is living in Larne but he has came through the system here and I thought he was absolutely immense. He played left wing-back and then went in when Marcus (Kane) got tired and did a fantastic job.

"There's absolutely zero blame at Johnny Russell's doorstep tonight because he is the future of the club. He's an outstanding player who gives everything of himself and tonight will hurt him.”

The result means Glentoran are now winless in their last four matches, including three Premiership split fixtures with a 0-0 draw against Linfield followed up by defeats to Coleraine and Larne.

They now trail Crusaders, who they meet in the final game of the season, by four points in the race for fourth, which could potentially secure direct progression to a European play-off final depending on who finishes seventh.

Devine praised his players for their “character, appetite and hunger” and says Tuesday’s performance has to be the benchmark going forward.

"I thought we were unlucky,” he reflected. “We showed tremendous character, appetite and hunger on the back of a really disappointing performance on Saturday.

"I thought we had a lot of really good performances individually and collectively they worked so hard to get a result, The last two home games with a 0-0 against Linfield and then tonight's game against Larne, they are the two benchmarks that show when our players give everything of themselves we're not a million miles away.

"We've lost the game and there's a lot of pain in there. We've lost the game and we have to get that mentality away from this place, that losing, moral victory away from the place - we've lost. We dust ourselves down and we try to make sure we bring the same application, commitment, desire and quality because we had good chances tonight.

"I thought we were brave on a difficult pitch and there were a lot of high-level performances...Harry Murphy was outstanding, Johnny Russell, Shay McCartan - I could go through them all, but we've lost the game and we need to make sure we don't lose anymore.

"Looking at the fans clapping the players off tonight...that has to be the benchmark of working hard, fight hard, compete for every ball and the players deserve huge credit tonight because they were brave coming up against the league champions."