Larne midfielder John Herron has revealed how he played through the pain barrier to help the Inver Park club secure European football next season.
Herron, who is struggling with Plantar Fasciitis, made a surprise return to action as a half-time substitute in Friday night’s dramatic play-off win over Glentoran.
And despite limping for periods of the second-half and battling through an additional half hour of extra-time, the 28-year-old helped Tiernan Lynch’s men secure a 4-2 victory.
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Prior to the weekend play-off, Herron’s previous action had come in a 0-0 draw with the Glens in a post-split fixture at the same venue on April 19.
“I hadn’t played or trained for a few weeks and you probably saw when I came on that I was limping a bit,” said the former Celtic player.
“I had been taking paracetamol for the pain and found out recently that I had Plantar Fasciitis on the bottom of my left foot. It has been excruciating.
“I managed to get through the second half and extra-time against Glentoran, but from five minutes in I could feel it shooting through my foot.
“I couldn’t really run, but it was a case of digging deep, gritting my teeth and trying to get a result because the team is more important than the individual.
“I would do the same thing tomorrow if it was needed. I’m just ecstatic for the club to get another year in Europe.”
Larne were trailing 2-0 at the Oval, only for the sending off of Glens defender Paddy McClean and four goals from ‘supersub’ Ronan Hale to turn the tie on its head.
Hale’s fourth goal was the pick of the bunch, the striker firing into an empty net from 75 yards out after home keeper Aaron McCarey had gone up for a last-gasp set-piece.
“It tells you a lot about the character of the boys,” said Herron. “We were 2-0 down against a good Glentoran team and to show the character and resilience we did was fantastic.
“A lot of credit has to go to Ronan. He is an exceptional person and a great friend of mine and a lot of people in Larne should be thankful for the attitude he has shown.
“He has been in and out of the team recently and he could have easily thrown the toys out of the pram, but that’s not the type of person he is.
“He has shown a lot of character, belief and mental strength to do what he has done.
“We were in the dressing room afterwards singing ‘there’s only one Ronan Hale’ and he deserved it. He deserves a lot of plaudits for his performance.”
Victory in Friday night’s play-off final secured Larne a spot in the first qualifying round of the Europa Conference League which kicks-off in July.
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