Larne emphatically bounce back from Irish Cup disappointment as Michael Glynn and Lee Bonis goals secure Danske Bank Premiership victory over Glentoran

​The talking points started before play even got underway with Larne boss Tiernan Lynch preferring Paul O’Neill to Andy Ryan in attack while Northern Ireland international Niall McGinn was also left on the bench by Glentoran manager Rodney McAree.

Larne started brightly and deservedly took the lead after 14 minutes as Michael Glynn scored his first goal for the club to settle any nerves, smashing home from close range after O’Neill calmly controlled a Tomas Cosgrove cross before laying off to the former Glenavon defender.

Glynn turned provider six minutes later with his cross from the left bouncing off Glentoran captain Marcus Kane and into the path of Lee Bonis, who showed an impressive combination of strength and composure in the box to fire in a 13th league goal of the season.

Larne goalkeeper Rohan Ferguson barely had anything to do in the first-half with Glentoran lacking spark or creativity in attack, so it was no surprise to see McAree look to his bench for inspiration with McGinn and Junior Ogedi-Uzokwe replacing Jay Donnelly and Danny Purkis at the break.

It was always going to be an uphill task for Glentoran to respond against a side that have only conceded five goals in 16 matches on home turf – the best record in the top-flight – and it almost became impossible only for Bonis not being able to catch up with a Leroy Millar delivery following a blistering counter-attack.

Glentoran fans behind the goal would have been wondering how their team didn’t score from a wonderful McGinn cross in the 56th minute which Glynn almost put into his own net.

That turned out to be the visitors best opportunity of the match as Larne produced a commanding performance, looking comfortable in what was a crucial fixture with huge stakes and pressure.

Lynch will be delighted with how his men recovered from a tough night at Seaview one week ago and leaves them seven points clear at the top with four games to play – next up is Tuesday’s trip to Cliftonville – as they target a first Premiership crown.