Larne made it 15 league games without defeat but the boss is playing it cool
Gary Haveron reckons any voices claiming his Larne side have the title in the bag are not worth listening to. The Inver men stretched their lead at the top of the table to 10 points with an impressive 4-1 win over 10-man Glentoran at The Oval on Tuesday night.
Ryan Cooney was sent off for the Glens after a reckless foul on Sean Graham in the first half, not long after Daniel Larmour had pulled them level following Paul O’Neill’s early opener.
Further goals from Chris Gallagher, O’Neill and Tomas Cosgrove saw Larne make it 15 league games without defeat, but Haveron said “it’s just another three points” and that there are plenty of tough battles ahead.
“Anybody who knows the game knows that nothing’s ever won in January,” said the 44-year-old. “There’s a long way to go. It’s just another three points, that’s all it is.
“It was against top-level opposition but this league is littered, from top to bottom, with really, really tough teams. Every single game is going to be a battle between now and the end of the season. So we have to be prepared for every challenge.”
Challenges don’t come much harder than back-to-back trips to face the Big Two in January, but that’s what Larne have been tasked with, as another crunch fixture against Linfield looms large tomorrow night.
Haveron revealed he was concerned during the build-up to such a vital week as his players struggled to adapt from playing on their 4G surface at Inver Park before heading to The Oval.
“It’s such a difficult place to come. We trained on grass all week in preparation for it but it was like we couldn’t get to grips with the surface.
“It seemed to me like we were mis-hitting clearances and we were shanking things, it was very uncharacteristic of us.
“But what we did was show how together they are as a group, they dug in for each other.
“This was a tough place to come to and we’ve another tough one on Friday night.
“Obviously we go to Windsor Park, we know how difficult that task is going to be because they’re a classy outfit, Linfield.
“I’ve always felt they’re a classy outfit, they do things the right way. “We know how proud a club they are, with their history and that.
“We’ll have to be respectful going there but we’re going there to try to back up another result.
“That’s it, it’s just the next game.”
And Haveron is asking for more of the same from not just his players, but the Larne supporters too.
He added: “I was incredibly proud to see so many fans coming up to The Oval on a cold, bitter night in January after Christmas.
“They were brilliant, to a man, woman and child. We can’t thank them enough and we’ll need that support again on Friday night.”
