Lee Bonis bags brace as Larne knock out Irish Cup holders Linfield

Larne secured a spot in the quarter-final draw at the expense of cup holders Linfield following goals in each half by Bonis for a 2-0 win.

The striker made the switch to Larne from Portadown last month for a reported £100,000 price tag and took another major step towards living up to the valuation with a decisive double for five goals in six appearances.

In a feisty cup clash which featured a number of off-the-ball incidents, Larne claimed the upper hand on 13 minutes and Bonis added his second after 83.

A Larne penalty appeal was waved away early on before the hosts broke the deadlock when Andrew Scott fired goalwards, with Chris Johns producing a parry but the alert Bonis sharp to steer home the rebound with a composed finish.

Linfield struggled to carve out openings overall but came close to a rapid response.

Kirk Millar picked up possession and attacked down the right before slipping a pass in-field into the path of the supporting Ahmed Salam.

However, Salam’s shot on the run from just outside the area clipped the upright.

Linfield boss David Healy introduced a triple substitution on 56 minutes in a bid to turn the tables.

However, Larne continued to look dangerous, with the creative David McDaid and industrious Ben Doherty at the heart of the home side’s final-third play as Linfield pushed in search of an equaliser.

Linfield almost suffered off a defensive slip when Jimmy Callacher’s backpass was met by Johns but the goalkeeper’s connection only dropped for Bonis inside the box.

The Larne forward was unable to get the loose ball under control - he made no mistake, however, three minutes later.

Jamie Mulgrew’s pass back was intercepted by the livewire Bonis and he displayed composure to slot home past Johns.

Larne: Devlin, Balmer, Watson, Sule, Herron, McDaid, Doherty, Scott, Bonis, Cosgrove, Jarvis.

Subs: Ferguson, Nasseri, Randall, Hale, Lynch, Mitchell, Bolger.

Linfield: Johns, Callacher, Hall, M.Clarke, McClean, Fallon, Mulgrew, Quinn, Millar, Salam, Manzinga.

Subs: Walsh, Newberry, Pepper, Hastie, Evans, McKee, Devine.

referee: Andrew Davey.

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