Glentoran boss Mick McDermott was left to reflect on “not a great night at the office” as the league leaders heading into the weekend fell to a 2-1 defeat at Inver Park on Friday evening.
Rory Donnelly had levelled for the visitors only for Larne, who led through a Lee Bonis goal, won it late on with a rifled finish from Lee Lynch.
It inflicted a fifth league defeat of the campaign on the Glens who passed up the opportunity to extend a slender advantage at the top of the Danske Bank Premiership.
“We didn’t play, apart from a 25 minute spell in the second half,” said McDermott. “We didn’t do enough, we didn’t move the ball quickly enough and we looked flat.
“Larne hit the woodwork three times and they had multiple shots on target so defensively it was poor. They could have scored four or five, so not a great night at the office.”
One peculiar stat to survive Friday night’s encounter is the fact Larne remain the only top-flight club not to lose to the Glens in all competitions this season.
Tiernan Lynch’s men also enjoyed a 2-1 win in the Shield at Inver Park in September, drew in the league at home in November and recorded a 3-2 win at the Oval on January 1.
That New Year’s Day defeat was Glentoran’s only defeat in their previous 21 league outings prior to Friday night’s setback in chilly East Antrim.
“We are disappointed, the players are disappointed, of course we are,” said McDermott. “But we know there’ll be games like this at this stage of the season.
“As long as the players turn that disappointment into a determination to prepare for next Saturday’s game against Glenavon, that’s all I can ask.
“This is not the result we wanted, but we will move on.”
Glentoran’s equaliser from birthday Donnelly, celebrating his 30th birthday, was bookmarked by two “poor” goals, according to McDermott.
A Ben Doherty crossed appeared to be bundled into his own net off McClean although Larne claimed on Saturday that striker Bonis got the last touch.
Lynch, a 69th minute substitute for Davy McDaid, grabbed the headlines when he was gifted time and space inside the area to rocket a screamer into the top corner.
“We conceded a poor goal at the start of the second half,” said McDermott. “We gave away possession and allowed a clipped ball to get into the box.
“I haven’t seen the video yet but the boys are saying there was a bit of a shove on Paddy when he was trying to clear it, but it then ends up in the back of the net.
“It took that goal to get us going and the only period we played was a 25 minutes spell until we got our goal.
“Instead of keeping going, staying high and putting pressure on to get the second goal, we seemed to drop off.
“I think the conditions may have gotten worse, but we couldn’t clear our lines and it was just coming back and it resulted in pressure.
“The second goal was really poor on our part. We allowed him to take a touch and strike freely, which was disappointing.”
Friday's result left Glentoran three points clear of Linfield ahead of the Blues playing Portadown at Windsor Park on Saturday afternoon.
