Chris Johns produced a wonder save in the dying seconds to earn Linfield a point against league leaders Larne in a much-anticipated clash at Inver Park.
In truth the game failed to live up to its pre-match billing but Johns' save to deny Thomas Maguire at the death was one of the standout moments in the game.
The hosts will probably be the happier of the two as the Blues face a battle to retain the title
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With top scorer Lee Bonis suspended Tiernan Lynch made three changes to the Larne side which defeated H&W Welders 1-0 in Friday night's Irish Cup quarter-final with Fuad Sule, Leroy Millar and Cian Bolger all returning.
The Blues had a rare Saturday off due to the cup games, boss David Healy made only one change to the side which won against Coleraine ten days ago with Ben Hall starting in place of Sam Roscoe.
The hosts almost got off to the perfect start as Michael Glynn picked out the unmarked Paul O'Neill in front of goal on two minutes, but the striker was denied by a great block from Johns.
Larne were making all the early running as Linfield struggled to get up to the pace of the game.
A long-range shot from Chris Shields on 21 minutes was their first effort of note, but Rohan Ferguson saved comfortably.
However, they didn't have long to wait to test the home keeper again as Eetu Vertainen's near post header from Kirk Millar's cross forced Ferguson to get down quickly to gather.
Larne looked the most likely to break the deadlock as we moved into the second half as the in-form Ryan tested Johns with a curling effort from the edge of the box 11 minutes after the restart.
The Scottish striker almost caught Johns out with a cross-cum-shot which clipped the bar as we moved into the last half hour.
The hosts should have done better after a slip by Hall allowed Ryan to get in behind in the 70th minutes.
He cut the ball back for Joe Thomson on the edge of the box, but he blazed high and wide.
The Blues were presented with a great opportunity on 88 minutes after Lafferty was felled by Aaron Donnelly on the edge of the box, but Kyle McClean's free-kick struck the wall.
Right at the death Johns produced an unbelievable save to claw out Maguire's deflected effort and earn his side a share of the spoils.
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