Soccer

Larne boss Gary Haveron believes it was ‘right call’ to abandoned clash with Glentoran over floodlight failure

Larne’s game with Glentoran called off after 60 minutes due to floodlight issue

Lights out in Saturday's game at the Oval Belfast  Glentoran v Larne    in the Sports Direct premiership
Lights out In Today’s game at the Oval Belfast Glentoran v Larne in the Sports Direct premiership Desmond Loughery Pacemaker press (DESMOND LOUGHERY/Desmond loughery Pacemaker press)

Larne boss Gary Haveron believed it was the “right call” to abandon Saturday’s Sports Direct Premiership game with Glentoran, after the Oval floodlight system failed.

A generator fault led to referee Chris Morrison blowing his final whistle 30-minutes early with the game scoreless. The result denied Glentoran the chance to move second in the table, and the Invermen fifth, with the game now having to be replayed at a later date.

Haveron, albeit frustrated at the early finish, could have no complaints about the swift action of the NIFL to come to a decision.

“There were a few technical issues with the floodlights and I’m led to believe it was a problem with a generator that was overheating and leaking,” the manager explained.

“I think one of those problems could be solved but not both of them, so NIFL stepped in and made the decision really quickly.

“If the lights weren’t going to be able to come on and we weren’t going to be able to finish the game, there was little point in playing on and having the game abandoned in the dying stages as we lost the light.”

Larnes Manager Gary Haveron        In Today’s game at the Oval Belfast  Glentoran v Larne    in the Sports Direct premiership 

Desmond Loughery Pacemaker press
Larnes manager Gary Haveron (DESMOND LOUGHERY/Desmond loughery Pacemaker press)

The game itself was a tight affair with both sides feeling that they had opportunities to be in front.

Early on, Cammy Palmer and Tomas Cosgrove came together in the Larne box. Cosgrove appeared to handle the ball before referee Morrison had blown his whistle for a goal-kick, but the home team’s appeals for a spot-kick were waved away.

With 26 minutes gone the visitors had their first real chance.

A long ball forward deflected off Kodi Lyons-Foster which sent Conor McKendry away down the right. The attacker cut the ball back for Joe Thomson, but Jonny Russell heroically threw himself at the ball to send it out for a corner.

As Larne grew into the game, it took a superb tackle from Frankie Hvid to deny Benji Magee a goalscoring opportunity on the stroke of half-time. However, there was still time for James Singleton to put the ball in the net a well-timed through ball from Jay Donnelly, but the linesman’s flag went up to signal offside.

Glentoran's manager Declan Devine   with ref Chris Morrison about floodlight failure      In Today’s game at the Oval Belfast  Glentoran v Larne    in the Sports Direct premiership 

Desmond Loughery Pacemaker press
Glentoran's manager Declan Devine with referee Chris Morrison after floodlight failure caused the abandonment of Saturday's game against Larne at the Oval in the Sports Direct premiership Picture: Desmond Loughery Pacemaker press (DESMOND LOUGHERY/Desmond loughery Pacemaker press)

Ten minutes into the second half and the Glens thought they had scored an opener.

Russell played the ball across the face of goal for David Fisher, who was just inches away from making contact, and that was to be the last meaningful action before proceedings were brought to a halt.

Larne already have a fixture backlog from their European adventure pre-Christmas, but Haveron is not going to use the congestion issue as an excuse as the club must find an available date for the re-scheduled fixture with the Glens.

“It is one [more] game we could have done without, but it is what it is. With player safety in mind and when there was no confidence, the generator wasn’t going to start again it was 100 per cent the right call.”

The teams will not have to wait long for a rematch, albeit not in the league. The sides clash on Tuesday night in the County Antrim Shield final at Seaview, with Larne hoping to win the competition for a fifth successive season.