'It was heartbreak' - Coleraine grab last-gasp winner plus penalty confirms first Portadown point alongside wins for Larne, Limavady and Crusaders
It was injury-time heartache for ailing Glentoran as they slumped to a 2-1 defeat against Boyle Sports Premiership table-topping Coleraine at the BetMcLean Oval.
Follow a run of poor results – the east Belfast boys had pocketed merely one point from a possible nine in their three previous outings – it led to the departure of manager Declan Devine on Monday.
The last thing they needed was a fixture against the league’s in-form team – the Bannsiders have yet to taste defeat.
When former Glentoran midfielder Joe Thomson fired the Glens into the lead with 17 minutes left the writing was on the wall for Glentoran, who had coaches Tim McCann and Paddy McCourt in the dugout.
But they battled back to level, courtesy of an untidy goal from substitute Jordan Jenkins.
As they fans prepared to celebrate an unexpected point, Coleraine substitute Lewis McGregor was on hand to finish off a cross from defender Robert Slevin.
“It was heartbreak, but it has probably been the story of our season,” said McCourt. “Once again, we conceded really poor goals.
"The performance, however, was better than it has been.
“Unless we start being more solid at the back and making it more difficult for teams to score, then it will be difficult to win football matches.
“In saying that, the boys put in a lot of effort that has been lacking at times this season.
“It’s been a difficult week, with Declan leaving the club, but the message was to go out and give everything and I thought they did that for large periods.”
There was no hiding the delight on Coleraine manager Ruaidhri Higgins’ face at the finish.
“Over the last two games, we’ve technically turned two points into six (they also scored a late winner against Ballymena United),” said Higgins. “It was dramatic, I actually didn’t realise we were so deep into injury-time.
"It was a huge win and it summarises the character we have in our group.
“We were really good for the first half-hour, creating three good chances, but Glentoran grew into the game.
“For a majority of the second half I always thought we had control of the game.
"They were not really in our box that much until their goal.
“But again, we responded positively and that’s a credit to our players.”
Jamie McGonigle grabbed three goals inside 22 minutes during Limavady United’s 3-1 home delight over Bangor.
Tiernan Mulvenna cut the gap and Bangor also managed to benefit with Stephen Lowry’s home red card but Limavady claimed full points.
Aidan Steele’s late header off a Danny Gibson cross left Carrick Rangers with a share of the spoils from Ballymena Showgrounds.
The 1-1 draw featured Igor Rutkowski firing Ballymena home early in the second half before Steele made his mark.
Carrick suffered a red card off Kym Nelson’s straight dismissal.
Defending Premiership champions Larne had Matty Lusty’s double to thank in home delight by 2-0 over Cliftonville.
Lusty finished the first half with a vital brace of goals.
Dungannon Swifts goalkeeper Declan Dunne was sent off as Crusaders fired home three second-half goals for Seaview success.
Robbie Weir, Scot Rough and Lloyd Anderson each grabbed goals in the Crues’ 3-0 win.
Ben Kennedy’s late penalty kick helped provide Portadown with a first point of the season in the 1-1 draw home to Linfield.
David Jeffrey, a past Blues boss, watched Kyle McClean put Linfield into the lead.
Kennedy, however, proved clinical from the penalty spot late on to end a run of straight Premiership defeats at six for the Ports.